LATAM cargo revenues in first rise for four years, but yields edge down

LATAM Airlines Group saw third quarter 2017 airfreight revenues rise by 2.5% to $272.2m, the first cargo revenue increase in four years.
The revenue rise in the three months ending September was driven by a 3.5% increase in cargo traffic, although cargo yields “declined slightly” by 1.0% over same period prior year. LATAM Cargo is South America’s biggest cargo airline.
Said a LATAM spokesperson: “Imports from North America and Europe to Brazil, continue to show improvement year-over-year, driven by major imports of electronics and spare parts, as a result of a more stable market conditions in the country as well as the appreciation of the Brazilian Real.
“Also, imports to Chile and Argentina started to recover during the quarter, as well as export markets from Peru, namely asparagus.”
As a result, cargo revenues per available tonne km (ATKs) improved by 8.2% as compared to the same quarter 2016, “continuing with the recovery trend we had during the first quarter of this year, after 19 consecutive quarters of revenue per ATK decline, as we have managed to adjust our capacity”.
In the third quarter, cargo capacity in ATKs declined 5.3%, which included a 15.3% reduction of freighter operations, resulting in a load factor of 54.2%, an improvement of 4.6 percentage points over 2016.
In terms of its freighter fleet, LATAM said that it will receive a Boeing 767-300F back from sub-leasing and will convert a Boeing 767-300 passenger aircraft into a freighter.
It added: “Also, two Boeing 777-300F are leaving our fleet during 2018 instead of 2017 as published in the previous plan.”
LATAM Airlines Group offers air services to around 140 destinations in 25 countries, and is present in six domestic markets in Latin America: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, in addition to its international operations in Latin America, Europe, the US, the Caribbean, Oceania and Africa.
LATAM Airlines Group (formerly LAN Airlines) comprises subsidiaries in Peru, Argentina, Colombia and Ecuador as well as LATAM Cargo.
Read more cargo Airline news