LATAM Cargo flew 12,600 tonnes of fresh flowers from Latin America this Valentine’s season

February 14, 2020: LATAM Cargo announced that more than 210 LATAM Cargo Boeing 767-300 freighters took off from Colombia and Ecuador, carrying 12,600 tonnes of flowers for the 2020 Valentine’s Day season. Including the Mother’s Day, the season represents the peak of the fresh flower export activity. This year’s figure represents a growth of 45% compared to last year.

The company strategised on increasing its operations in Colombia and Ecuador, which resulted into this positive outcome. Roses, mixed bouquets and carnations stood as the stars of the flower season, this year, which started the week of January 14 and ended on February 10. Colombia and Ecuador being the main producers, their flowers were shipped to the United States, the Netherlands and China, among other destinations.

Felipe Caballero, LATAM Cargo senior revenue manager for South America said, “For the company, these Valentine’s Day figures are proof that our customers understand and value our commitment and effort to provide permanent and stable solutions for their shipments. Chrysanthemums, iris, gypsophila and greenery were also big hits this season, mostly coming from Bogota and Medellin in Colombia and from Quito in Ecuador, and heading to markets in North America, Europe, Oceania, South America and Asia. This connectivity was made possible thanks to the more than 145 destinations that make up LATAM Cargo’s network, linking Latin America to the rest of the world.

The company operated 110 flights after adding 38 new frequencies to its normal operation during this period, and in Ecuador it operated 100 flights, with 58 frequencies more than the regular operation during these four weeks.

The operation was in total 2.2 times larger than an ordinary week in Colombia and 3.5 times larger in Ecuador, totaling 6,600 tons of flowers transported from Colombia and 6,000 tons from Ecuador.

The main consumer of fresh flowers was the United States, with 90% of all flowers transported by the company (11,300 tons). Demand went up 65% compared to a regular period and 45% compared to Valentine’s Day 2019.

Miami acted as one of the world’s largest distribution hubs and home to LATAM Airlines Group cargo operations base, while other importing markets include the Netherlands with 850 tons (7%), and to a lesser extent, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, Madrid and Sydney. Flowers were also flown into New York, Santiago, and New Zealand.

“LATAM Cargo successfully completed a highly complex operation to maintain the freshness and shelf life of our customers’ flowers. This positive result comes at the same time as we introduce to the market our new perishable care, FRESH, which seeks to safeguard the freshness and shelf life of perishable products,” said Cristina Oñate, VP of Marketing and Product Development for LATAM Cargo. “FRESH is our stable and scalable approach to meeting this challenge, and offers a global standard of cold chain management for perishables across our LATAM network.”

LATAM Cargo also launched an expansion plan in Colombia that saw a gradual increase in frequencies to strengthen its presence in that market, and enhance the country’s export and import role. Currently LATAM Cargo has nearly tripled its export offerings between Bogota and Miami, going from 6 to 15 weekly flights. In Medellin, the company maintains its presence with six-per-week frequencies to Miami.

LATAM Cargo opened the Miami–Cali route with two weekly frequencies, which will provide a greater flow of cargo from North America and offer a new gateway to Colombia. The company will also soon announce the start of operation of a new route from USA to Colombia, in addition to Bogotá and Cali, to continue exploring new destinations in the Latin American country.