LATIN America's exporters, from salmon farmers in Chile to produce growers across the region, are moving a growing portion of their cargo to Asia, mostly China, but it is not easy, reports London's Loadstar.
Some 86 per cent of Chile's cherry exports went to Asia last year, with China, now Latin America's third-largest export market, taking 82 per cent, but LATAM freighters don't cross the Pacific and its passengers don't go to the Far East.
'We need connectivity to a growing Asian market as part of our value proposition. This means a growing emphasis on building new, and cultivating existing, interline partnerships,' said LATAM Cargo chief Andres Bianchi.
Air Canada vice president Tim Strauss faces less severe but similar problems and is looking for 'a couple of collaboration options' having enjoyed a partnership with Northwest Airlines and KLM, when he worked for the US airline.
With a relatively small domestic market, Air Canada is increasingly leveraging its network. When it was running a joint-venture freighter operation with Cargojet, which saw B767 freighters fly to Mexico City, Bogota and Lima, it fed traffic into this from Europe and Asia as well as North America, and vice versa.
'We can fill our flights from China easily, but how about Casablanca? That's the hard part,' Mr Strauss said, adding that network selling is directed to big global forwarders.
'Global forwarders have that reach,' confirmed Mr Strauss.
The Air Canada-Cargojet venture ended last year (resistance from Air Canada's pilots, according to external sources), but Cargojet decided to continue flights to Bogota and Lima. Interline traffic plays a considerable role in the cargo airline's solo venture.
Some 86 per cent of Chile's cherry exports went to Asia last year, with China, now Latin America's third-largest export market, taking 82 per cent, but LATAM freighters don't cross the Pacific and its passengers don't go to the Far East.
'We need connectivity to a growing Asian market as part of our value proposition. This means a growing emphasis on building new, and cultivating existing, interline partnerships,' said LATAM Cargo chief Andres Bianchi.
Air Canada vice president Tim Strauss faces less severe but similar problems and is looking for 'a couple of collaboration options' having enjoyed a partnership with Northwest Airlines and KLM, when he worked for the US airline.
With a relatively small domestic market, Air Canada is increasingly leveraging its network. When it was running a joint-venture freighter operation with Cargojet, which saw B767 freighters fly to Mexico City, Bogota and Lima, it fed traffic into this from Europe and Asia as well as North America, and vice versa.
'We can fill our flights from China easily, but how about Casablanca? That's the hard part,' Mr Strauss said, adding that network selling is directed to big global forwarders.
'Global forwarders have that reach,' confirmed Mr Strauss.
The Air Canada-Cargojet venture ended last year (resistance from Air Canada's pilots, according to external sources), but Cargojet decided to continue flights to Bogota and Lima. Interline traffic plays a considerable role in the cargo airline's solo venture.