LATAM Cargo focusses on Brussels

Pharma and healthcare were the key topics tabled by LATAM Cargo at the carrier’s Brussels event on Thursday (05SEP24). The trade show was attended by roughly 50 invitees, mainly managers from freight forwarding companies, but also executives from Brussels Airport. And their eyes started to glow at exactly 10:30, when Jorge Carretero, Sales Director Central Europe, LATAM Cargo, presented this news:

“With the start of the winter flight schedule at the end of OCT24, we will operate all of our transatlantic eastbound cargo flights via Brussels.” In total, this will add up to 12 weekly B767F freighter services, which translates into a capacity of around 600 tons. This announcement, confirming former market rumors, explains why the second Pharma Day initiated by LATAM Cargo took place in Brussels, after Frankfurt the year before. Señor Carretero added to his network overview, that ten of the Brussels cargo flights would connect to Frankfurt before heading back to destinations in South America.

The attendees of a Brussels-held pharma conference organized by LATAM Cargo welcomed a B767F at an airport tour that had landed shortly before in BRU – courtesy: LATAM Cargo.

Missing long-term planning security at AMS
However, the manager did not reveal why his airline decided to scrap both Amsterdam and Liège from its itinerary. Forwarding agents indicated that this step was taken by management as result of ongoing political discussion in the Netherlands involving pros and cons of slot cuts at Amsterdam. “The LATAM Cargo guys simply miss long-term planning certainty at Schiphol,” an agent told CargoForwarder Global. Not so in the case of Brussels, following the resounding failure of a recent demand tabled by Transport Minister Georges Gilkinet (Ecolo / Greens) [see here]. The politician loudly advocated a night flight curfew and the banning of B777 freighters operated by integrator DHL Express at BRU, due to noise issues. Following massive protests, Gilkinet’s proposal quickly ended up in the garbage can.

B767F – proving its worth day in, day out
The B767 is an ideal aircraft for the adjusted route network, as it allows non-stop service from Europe to Latin American airports such as Florianópolis, for instance, which do not belong to the top category of cargo hubs. “With our new non-stop connection ex Europe, we have also opened up Florianópolis for pharmaceutical and life science products, in addition to the transportation of general cargo and other commodities,” stresses Señor Carretero.
Brazil is LATAM Cargo’s most important market. “Thanks in part to the uniform B767F fleet, we are now the clear number one in cargo traffic between the EU and South America,” says the manager. Added to this is the belly capacity of its passenger flights, which contribute around half of the total transport capacity offered to the market.

Back in the black
The manager also highlighted the return of the Chilean-Brazilian airline to the New York Stock Exchange on 25JUL24. It ends the dire times that began in JUN20, with the airline’s delisting and the Covid-related insolvency proceedings. Meanwhile, emerged from Chapter 11 protection and restructured, the carrier is again earning money, emphasized Mr. Carretero.

LATAM decision makers Jorge Carretero, Sales Chief Central Europe (standing left), and Matias Cortina, VP Commercial EMEA presented the carrier’s product and network novelties in Brussels to hand-picked industry representatives  – photo: CFG/hs

Control towers control pharma shipments
The cargo division, and in particular the transportation of high-quality pharmaceuticals and life science products, has also contributed to the financial upturn. The transportation of these temperature-sensitive commodities is demanding and requires a great deal of expertise. “This is why we introduced this product in the initial phase very cautiously on point-to-point flights, to be on the safe side, avoiding risky transits,” says Carretero.
In the meantime, however, the processes run smoothly, and control towers monitor the shipments from A to Z. This includes 44 origin-destination routes and 9 connection hubs, enabling transports across the entire network served by the carrier. Cooperating closely with providers of active air cargo containers or thermal solutions to secure the product integrity of temperature-sensitive items is also of great help, namely with DoKaSch TS, C-Safe or Envirotainer. However, in case of distortions, major hiccups or false ground handling mistakes can become expensive. “Last year, temperature matters led to the loss of 35 billion USD worldwide,” the manager said, citing official figures.

Dense pharma clusters
In his presentation, Samuel Speltdoorn highlighted the importance of the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry for Belgium and therefore Brussels Airport. He spoke of a huge cluster as shown by large brands such as Astra Zeneca, Bayer, Sanofi, GlaxoSmithKline, Boehringer, Merck or Eli Lilly, to name but a few, running facilities in the country. Their doing is backed by universities and research institutes and forms a breeding ground for start-ups. The result: every day, Belgium-based companies belonging to the pharma and life science sector, export products worth 275 million euros. Many of the goods are transported by air to customers located all around the globe. In terms of tonnage, not necessarily value, Brussels has now overtaken Frankfurt as the number one pharma hub in the EU. “So, the cluster policy and our early efforts to become the first CEIV compliant airport in Europe have really paid off,” exclaimed Mr. Speltdoorn.

New offer to reduce CO2
At the end of the event, LATAM Cargo announced another piece of news, primarily addressing freight forwarders: “We launched an ‘Added-Value’ option for pharma shipments,” explained Daniela Vial, Director of Product Development. “Our customers have the choice and flexibility to decide how many greenhouse gas emissions they intend to avoid per shipment, thus reducing their CO2 footprint. The most common interest we see is between 5% and 20% calculated for any given flight,” she illustrates. Asked about the costs, she speaks of great variability, depending on the type of feedstock, the country where SAF is purchased and some other characteristics. In a nutshell, this new “Added-Value” option offers the market a competitive premium product for a slightly higher price. So far, SAF is not produced anywhere in Latin America. That is why LATAM Cargo purchases Sustainable Aviation Fuel either in the U.S. or Europe. However, management emphasizes that LATAM Airlines Group and its subsidiaries in Ecuador, Brazil, Peru, and Paraguay, including LATAM Cargo, support governments and other stakeholders in developing SAF in South America by setting up production plants.

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