LATAM mulls cargo cooperation with Mercado Libre

LATAM Airlines Group is considering partnering South American online retailer Mercado Libre (Mercado Livre in Brazil) in expanding into the e-commerce sector to compensate for still anaemic passenger demand, LATAM Cargo chief executive Andres Bianchi told Reuters. “We are seeing e-commerce as a trend in the region that will continue growing, not just domestically but increasingly internationally,” Bianchi said. Although Mercado Libre is an Argentine company, it is active throughout the region. LATAM Cargo also wants to focus on various markets both in terms of its e-commerce-targeted operations and other cargo services. “We are going to add two [freighter] planes in Colombia, as well as supporting the growth of the salmon industry in Chile,” Bianchi said, adding that the airline was also planning to grow its cargo presence in Brazil and Ecuador. Following its larger rivals Amazon.com and China’s Alibaba, Mercado Libre signed exclusive freighter charter deals with each of Sideral Linhas Aéreas (SID, Curitiba Int’l) in Brazil and Aeronaves TSM (VTM, Saltillo) in Mexico. The two airlines will operate for Mercado Libre’s new logistics platform Meli Air. According to the ch-aviation fleets advanced module, LATAM Cargo’s combined fleet comprises two B767-300Fs operated by LATAM Cargo Chile (UC, Santiago de Chile Int’l), three B767-300Fs and three B767-300(ERBCF)s operated by LATAM Cargo Colombia (L7, Bogotá), and three B767-300Fs operated by LATAM Cargo Brasil (M3, Sao Paulo Viracopos). The carrier does not currently have any exclusive charter agreements with cargo customers.