LATAM Airlines' second-quarter cargo revenues reached US$299
LATAM Airlines' second-quarter cargo revenues reached US$299.7 million, a year-on-year increase of 16.8 per cent, on the back of a recovery in both regional imports and exports, as well as a 6.7 per cent rise in cargo yields due to an improved demand environment and the ending of a Brazilian truckers' strike. A spokesperson for the Chilean-based carrier said: 'The cargo load factor reached 54.9 per cent, an improvement of one percentage points compared to the second quarter 2017. Imports from North America and Europe to Brazil and Chile showed an improvement in terms of revenues per available tonne kilometres (ATKs), driven by higher imports of electronics and capital goods.
'Export markets are also showing a recovery year over year, driven mainly by salmon exports from Chile. As a result, cargo revenues per ATK improved by 8.7 per cent in comparison to the same quarter of the previous year, consolidating and further improving the positive trend shown since the beginning of last year. Cargo capacity, measured in ATKs, rose 7.5 per cent in the second quarter of 2018.'
The airline anticipates cargo ATKs will rise between one and three per cent this year. In June it added a direct route from the US hub Miami to the Chilean cites of Antofagasta and Santiago with a twice-weekly 50-tonne capacity Boeing 767 freighter. In the same month it implemented the new end-to-end cargo management system, CROAMIS, London's Air Cargo News reported.
The airline plans to outsource its ground handling services at the airports of Guarulhos in Sao Paulo and Galeao in Rio de Janeiro, a move in line 'with a worldwide trend of hiring specialised services for non-core activities.'
The carrier now operates a fleet of ten Boeing 767-300 freighters, after selling its two B777-200Fs to US lessor Atlas Air this March.
