With over 50 years of history, Airbus has established itself as one of the most important commercial aircraft manufacturers in the world. However, the European company has long ceased to be just a passenger aircraft company. Today, its portfolio includes civil and military helicopters, transport and combat aircraft, drones, satellites, and space technology.

In Latin America, it has been present for over 45 years, with 1,300 employees, 17 locations, and products in nearly all business segments. Wouter van Wersch is the executive vice president of Airbus and is responsible for the company's international operations. During his visit to Chile for the International Air and Space Fair (Fidae), he spoke with Señal DF, revealing compelling figures.

Airbus's order book exceeds 8,700 aircraft—more than ten years of secured production—and for Latin America, it projects a need for over 2,600 new aircraft in the next twenty years. "The global market is really growing," he asserts. Regarding the current geopolitical situation, he acknowledges that the environment is complex: "We like free trade and stable environments, (...

) and that is not really the case today," but he believes Airbus has a unique role to offer: providing technological sovereignty to its customers in an increasingly uncertain world. - How would you describe the current state of Airbus globally? - 2025 was a good year for the company.

We had good orders and good deliveries in commercial aviation; it was a record year for our helicopter division and also…

- In commercial aviation, regarding our latest aircraft, we have the A320neo, A330neo, A350, and A220. In helicopters, we have a complete portfolio for both civil and military use. In defense and space, we offer transport aircraft like the C-295 and A400M, the MRTT tanker, the Eurofighter fighter jet, and satellites for earth observation and telecommunications.

- Drones seem to be a major focus of investment. What is Airbus's strategy in this field? - It is true that drones are emerging strongly, and we want to be leaders in that area.

We have already developed drones, including the Flexrotor, SIRTAP, and Aliaca, each with different mission types. There is a significant market ahead of us. Airbus in Latin America - How does Airbus view the Latin American market in terms of aircraft demand?

- We estimate that there will be a need for 44,000 new aircraft globally. Specifically for Latin America, we estimate over 2,600 new aircraft in the next 20 years. There are also about 800 additional point-to-point routes that would make sense to open in the region.

The market is expanding rapidly. - Airbus dominates the single-aisle segment in the region. How does that translate into figures?

- In Chile, we have 100% market share in single-aisle aircraft; all local airlines operate Airbus aircraft. In Latin America, 90% of the 2,600 aircraft needed will be single-aisle. Globally, we lead that segment with a 60% to 65% market share.

Last year, the A320 was the most delivered aircraft in the world. - And in wide-body aircraft? - In wide-body, we are not yet at a 50/50 split, but we are getting very close thanks to the A330neo and the two versions of the A350.

- Regarding total aircraft production, how was 2025? - Last year we produced 793 aircraft; this year the plan is to reach 870. But we have a backlog of 8,700, which you can imagine is more than ten years of production.

- How much do you expect the demand for human capital to grow in the region? - In Latin America, we currently have 1,300 people and 17 locations. But we estimate that to operate the more than 2,600 new aircraft arriving in the region, around 132,000 additional people will be needed, including 35,000 pilots.

- In terms of Chile, Airbus has celebrated 25 years of presence in the country. What is your assessment? - We started from scratch, and today we have a complete presence.

We have a maintenance, repair, and overhaul workshop for helicopters that serves not only Chile but also six countries in the Southern Cone. We created a training center with two simulators for the A320 and A321 neo, training pilots close to the market. We aim to continue growing through collaboration with local players and leveraging available human capital.

“We are leading” - How do you see Airbus's position today? - Today we lead the market in commercial aviation, but we have strong competition. We cannot forget about Boeing, which is a strong competitor.

Embraer competes directly with our A220 in the smaller aircraft segment, and then there are the Chinese with Comac. But we are definitely leading. - Is Comac growing quickly?

- They are discovering that it is a very complex industry. We have years and years of experience, so they need to learn a lot, but they will be there, and I think we like that. We enjoy having strong and good competitors.

- Returning to Embraer, how do you view the competition now that they announced the agreement with Latam Airlines? - We welcome the competition; we do not see it as a threat. In fact, our aircraft that competes with Embraer is the A220, which is the latest aircraft developed in the industry.

Most of the time we win, sometimes we don’t, but we are doing well. In terms of order book, we almost triple our competition in that segment, with around 959 orders, making it the market leader. The geopolitical situation, SAF, and competition - How does the current geopolitical situation affect Airbus?

- We have not yet seen any direct consequences. We like free trade and stable environments, and that is not the scenario today; the geopolitical situation is complicated. There is a growing demand for sovereignty from countries due to wars and also due to the changing position of the United States, which is no longer the reliable power it once was.

- And how do you fit into that? - We want to provide our customers and countries around the world with the right tools to be independent and to build their own defense forces with equipment they can manage without relying on others. We want to grant sovereignty.

We are a European company with strong values in terms of trust, security, and collaboration, and that is what we strive to promote. - We know that the price of aviation fuel has doubled. Is this the time to accelerate the transition to SAF?

- Sustainable aviation fuel is essential for decarbonizing the industry, and Airbus has been strongly promoting its development, even investing directly in it. But I hope that the current crisis will be an additional trigger to motivate large energy companies and also smaller ones to invest in it. - In that case, do you see it possible for Latin America to position itself as a relevant hub for SAF production?

- Yes. In Brazil, they have a large methanol market, and I am convinced they have a key role in this matter, so I indeed believe Brazil is the country with the greatest potential in this area.