AITAL changes name to ALTA

Miami, Fla.–The Latin American Air Transport Association is changing its name to ALTA from AITAL to better reflect the broad membership that encompasses the association and to show a renewed sense of mission as it takes on an ever-increasing importance to airlines in the region, said a release.

“Today, we launch a new direction for Latin American aviation,” said ALTA President Pedro Heilbron. “This new direction includes everyone and excludes no one. ALTA represents all airlines in the region, from the smallest regional carrier to the major international airline.”

“We are proud to have 29 different airline members, which together represent the leading carriers in the region, that all work together to achieve common aviation goals,” said Heilbron. “The fact that ALTA has been growing and including new members every year shows that the industry supports the work it is doing.”

“When you look across the region, it is the airlines of Latin America and the Caribbean that connect cultures, families, ideas and progress,” said ALTA Executive Director Alex de Gunten, who has led the association since November 2003.

“For 26 years, we have worked hard as an association to represent our members in all areas important to them,” said de Gunten. “That is never more important than today, where our members face rising fuel prices, increasing airport fees and government taxes, complex legal and geopolitical issues, as well as daily operational, technical and financial issues.”

ALTA, which moved its headquarters to Miami, Florida, in 2004, has staff in Buenos Aires, Argentina; Santiago, Chile and Bogot, Colombia. The association has a number of committees working on aviation issues daily, including areas such as Operations, Airports, Fuel, Legal, Cargo, Maintenance and Aeronautical Materials (CCMA).

In English, the name remains “the Latin American Air Transport Association.” In Spanish, the term ALTA means “high” and now stands for “Asociacin Latinoamericana de Transporte Areo.” The association also today has adopted a new, more current logo that reflects the diverse cultures of Central and South America, as well as the Caribbean.