LATAM Cargo will add extra capacity to the Latin America-Europe trade lane following Qatar Airways and Air France KLM Martinair’s decision last week to remove services from the market.
The South American carrier yesterday announced it would add two weekly flights to its current schedule between the two regions from October 1.
The new frequencies are tentatively planned to operate from Brussels in Europe and “reinforce capacity to destinations such as Viracopos and Santiago”.
The additional flights will be operated with Boeing 767 freighters and will increase LATAM’s freighter frequencies between the two regions from 10 to 12.
They will mainly carry general cargo and pharmaceuticals from Europe and perishable cargo from countries such as Peru, Chile, Equator and Colombia in the opposite direction.
LATAM said that in total it will offer more than 1,700 tons of cargo capacity per week across its passenger and cargo networks distributed among eight points in South America and 10 in Europe.
Matías Cortina, vice president of commercial for Europe at LATAM Cargo Group, said: “As the leading cargo operator in South America, our focus is on providing our customers with increased and improved connectivity.
“With this new growth, we will offer 140% more capacity to and from Europe and double the cargo destinations in South America compared to 2019. This significant increase in capacity also applies to our offerings for Ecuadorian flowers.”
Claudio Torres, commercial senior vice president for South America at LATAM Cargo Group, added: “The strengthening of our cargo network, complemented by an extensive belly network, has allowed LATAM to significantly expand capacity to Europe.
“Currently, we operate 10 weekly cargo frequencies to Europe, and from October, we will increase to 12 frequencies. This capacity increase will not only expand our points of origin in South America but also offer our perishable cargo customers more options and greater flexibility in transporting their products.”
The move comes after Qatar Airways and Air France KLM Martinair Cargo announced they were moving freighter flights from the Latam market to Asia Pacific.
Qatar Cargo told Air Cargo News it would suspend its 777 freighter services to Santiago and Viracopos starting in September.
The two stations will continue to be supported through its partnerships and alliances with other carriers, it said.
Freighter flights to Bogotá, Quito, and Guarulhos will continue as planned.
Meanwhile, freighter frequencies to India, China, Vietnam and Europe will be increased.
And Martinair last week announced that in September it would launch a new Boeing 747-400 freighter service between Amsterdam Schiphol and Hong Kong via Dubai offering around 110 tonnes of capacity per flight.
As a result of the new Hong Kong flights, some of its services in Latin America will be suspended.
A glance at the current AKLMP Latin America freighter network shows flights to Guatemala City, Quito, Bogota, Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires and Santiago.
An updated map only includes flights to Bogota, which will operate three times per week via Miami.
The move comes as capacity from the Central/South America region has surged over the past year.
Figures published on Friday from data provider WorldACD show that cargo capacity based in the region is up 19% year on year, while demand is up by the lower amount of 4%.
As a result, rates achieved by cargo being flown out of the region is down by 4% compared with a year earlier.
While rate performance from the region has been on a downward trend, prices from Asia and the Middle East have this year surged.
The WorldACD data shows that rates out of the Middle East/South Asia are up by 55% compared with last year and for Asia Pacific they are 24% up.
