RIO DE JANEIRO, June 17 (Reuters) -

Complicated market conditions have prevented foreign

airlines from launching local operations in Brazil, planemaker

Airbus' head in the country told Reuters.

In 2018, rules which had limited the size of the stake a

foreign investor could hold in an airline were overturned in a

bid to open up competition among carriers in Latin America's

largest economy.

Still, market share in Brazil is dominated by just three

companies: Azul, Gol and LATAM,

the latter the result of a merger in the 2010s between local

airline TAM with Chile's LAN.

Airbus executive Gilberto Peralta said in an interview

last week that the reluctance from international airlines to

enter Brazil was mainly due to judicial uncertainty, citing a

high number of legal actions taken by Brazilian customers

against airlines, as well as high fuel prices.

"Capital barriers are gone, a foreigner could come and

set up a company in Brazil, but they don't... It's a lot of

trouble," he said.

Brazil's strong consumer protections make it easy for

flyers to sue carriers for a range of issues, including delayed

or canceled flights.

Late last year, airline lobby group IATA had urged state-run

oil company Petrobras to reduce fuel costs, calling

kerosene prices in the South American nation "excessively high."

Petrobras said earlier this month that jet fuel prices in

Brazil have already fallen 8.8% so far in 2024.

Airbus' global production capacity currently stands between

60 and 65 aircraft per month, while the company aims to increase

that figure to 75 planes per month by late-2025 or early 2026.

Most Airbus orders come from customers in Asia, the U.S. and

Europe. In Brazil, orders from Azul and LATAM stand at more than

100 aircraft in the coming years.

Asked about the impacts of the quality crisis faced by

fellow planemaker Boeing ( BA ), which has generated delays

in aircraft deliveries, Peralta said he hopes for stabilization

at the competitor.

"I'm sure they'll fix it... that's not good for the market,

as it creates insecurity and generates concern among users," he

said.

($1 = 5.4236 reais)