Fast service will continue to be the biggest appeal in the air cargo industry, but its cost, associated with fuel, and the restrictions and regulations, specially those related to security, have reduced its advantages.
Today, large cargo exporters are optimizing their logistic networks and can be very creative in the process. The in-shore tendency (the transfer of production and assembly closer to the consumer), the change and complementation of other means of transportation, the decrease in volume and/or weight of the packing material and the reduction of inventory costs, are all part of the permanent evaluation being conducted by the areas of production and logistics. Apparently it is working, at least in the reduction in the air cargo percentage of the total volume transported globally, resulting in lower costs.
In addition, the tendency to protect and regulate, albeit isolated, in less developed markets, are also affecting the growth in the demand. Increased security restrictions produce the same results, which have been implemented for some time now and have become stricter in the air transportation.
It is evident that the airline industry, particularly the leading carrier, must respond utilizing novel and efficient initiatives to reposition the cargo transportation alternative as the most advantageous, to attract demand and better respond to our clients’ growing needs.
The cargo affiliates of LATAM Airlines Group are diligently working at various projects that point to bigger competiveness, not only with the traditional competitors and other means of transportation, but also by better supporting the global tendency for optimization.
It is not enough to operate the most fuel-efficient aircraft. We must also offer better alternatives that include different routes and transit times as well as competitive prices. For this reason we are working on a big “Product and Connectivity” project that will allow our clients better options for their shipments, in accordance with their needs.
For the network to be more competitive, we are utilizing all the space in our passenger aircraft bellies, complementing our exclusive network of cargo aircraft, making our network the most versatile and important in the region.
In addition we are investing to improve our information systems because we know that “on line” visibility is very important to our clients and allows us to better optimize all available spaces within our network.
We are also implementing new infrastructure projects to speed up processes at airports that will guarantee the security and handling of each shipment.
And in case a problem occurs, we take care of it. We have a team in charge of exceptions, who will provide support during inconveniences, delivering opportune and proactive information, as well as efficient solutions in response to our clients needs.
I would like to emphasize that each one of these initiatives and improvements are possible thanks to the teams that supports the cargo affiliates of LATAM Airlines Group. Highly trained personnel, representing diverse countries and cultures, ready to deliver their best efforts and the improvement of the service experience with the companies.
Our most important objective is contributing efficiency and reliability to our client’s transportation network to support their competitiveness.
By: Cristián Ureta, CEO of LAN CARGO