CARGO
CARRIER
FOCUS
In 2019, LATAM Cargo’s load factor grew by
0.3% despite a 1.6% decrease in tonnage
the Net Promoter Score metric
and our progress was mainly
driven by improvements in
internal processes and our
efforts to come even closer to
our clients.”
not affected by the US trade
war with China, although the
carrier noted the uncertainties
occasioned by this acrimonious
dispute.
Cargo increased its fleet after
receiving two converted
freighters in July and
December as part of an
agreement signed with Boeing
towards the end of 2017.
Furthermore, LATAM Airlines
Brazil added 14 A320-200
aircraft to its fleet for domestic
utilisation, mainly operating in
Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro’s
airports. Additionally, as
part of the agreement signed
with Delta Air Lines, the
American airline undertook a
commitment for the purchase
of ten LATAM A350 aircraft
from Airbus, and the sale of
four LATAM A350 aircraft to
Delta.
LULL BEFORE
THE STORM
The Editor profiles a Latin American carrier
that is still delivering the goods – and looks
back over its past year.
As this report was being
written, the outlook
for Latin America was
indeed a bleak one. Data
supplier Focus Economics
declared that the ongoing
pandemic was set to push
the region into its deepest
recession in modern history
this year; and despite the
fact that regional inflation
figures fell in the early part
of the year, nonetheless the
continent was in for a tough
few months. But was 2019, in
those balmy pre-COVID-19
days, a year to remember?
A key player
One of the most important
players in the region is that
of LATAM Cargo. ALI asked
the carrier about networks, its
routes and its commodities:
how had the carrier fared?
A spokesperson for the
carrier said that as its clients’
strategic partner, LATAM was
committed to being present in
their relevant markets.
“Hence, in 2019 we
expanded our routes to provide
more and better alternatives.
Specifically, we launched
12 international and 14
domestic routes, closing the
year with a robust network
composed of 151 destinations
(36 international and 115
domestic) that allowed us to
transport our clients’ products
to all five continents.
“At an international level,
the routes with the most
cargo traffic were the ones
that connect South America
to North America, and vice
versa. In terms of products,
perishables took the lead,
especially salmon, flowers,
asparagus and fruit.”
Of the total cargo
transported by LATAM in
2019, 37% corresponded to
shipments originating in Latin
America and connecting to the
rest of the world, while 24%
constituted incoming cargo.
Transportation in domestic
markets represented 33% of
activity whilst transportation
between countries within the
Latin American region made
up the remaining 6%.
During 2019, the company
transported 904 tonnes of
cargo, a figure that represents
a 1.6% decrease compared
to the previous year. This,
according to the respondent,
was caused by the decline in
South America’s main import
markets, namely Argentina
and Brazil. For Argentina,
the situation resulted from
economic and political issues,
along with strong currency
devaluation. As for Brazil,
this was driven both by the
execution of economic reforms
and a weak exchange rate. In
addition, worldwide economic
uncertainty and demand
volatility were factors that had
a negative impact on import
markets.
The carrier’s spokesperson
continues: “Despite the
complex scenario, we
registered substantial
achievements during 2019.
One of them was increasing
our load factor by 0.3%, by
further optimising our fleet
and our network’s utilisation.
Regarding our clients, we had
a 9% increase in satisfaction
levels in terms of the provided
service. This is measured using
Happily, LATAM Cargo was
During 2019, LATAM
By the end of 2019, LATAM
Airlines Group’s fleet consisted
of 342 aircraft, including 11
Boeing 767F aircraft from the
Cargo unit.
“One of 2019’s main
challenges,” admitted the
spokesperson, “was dealing
with imbalances in Latin
American import and export
markets. The Northbound
flows (Latin American exports)
had a good performance but
the imports displayed a sharp
decrease. Despite this, we were
able to maintain high market
shares by efficiently utilising
our fleet and network.”
It is, ultimately, gratifying
to know that business (and
life) goes on during these
highly uncertain times.
10 August 2020 www.airlogisticsinternational.com
/www.airlogisticsinternational.com