(Reuters) – European planemaker Airbus SE (AIR.PA) plans to sell more than 1,000 new passenger planes in the next 15 years in Latin America and the Caribbean, meeting about half the demand expected in the region, an executive of the company told Reuters.

More than 700 Airbus planes already operate in Latin America and the Caribbean – about 60% of the fleet in service.

“In the next 15 years, the Latin American aviation market will require more than 2,000 new aircraft. We’d sell more than 1,000 planes,” Alberto Robles, Airbus vice president for the region said in a phone interview on Thursday from Medellin, Colombia.

Last year, the company posted 64 billion euros ($72 billion) in net profit, 7% of which came from Latin American and the Caribbean.

The company also sells helicopters, military transportation and satellites to countries in the region.

Robles, who attended an aeronautic fair outside the Colombian city of Medellin, added that the company hopes to sell its Eurofighter Typhoon jets to Colombia to renew its defense air fleet.

SOURCE REUTERS