LATAM accelerates expansion with up to eight 767-300BCFs

LATAM Cargo has placed a firm order with Boeing for four 767-300BCF conversions and added options for up to four more, accelerating an expansion plan originally drawn up before the pandemic [FATs 005995-6002]. LATAM, already the largest major scheduled combination carrier operating 767 freighters, with eleven units, told Cargo Facts that it expects to take redelivery of the four converted freighters between December 2021 and July 2022. According to Andres Bianchi, CEO of LATAM Cargo, the company had already had a fleet growth plan in place in 2019. But LATAM has now sped up that plan by about 50% — mostly a demand-driven decision but also one that was enabled by the increased availability of passenger frames in the wake of the pandemic. [caption id="attachment_415467" align="alignright" width="560"] LATAM Cargo already has three 767-300BCFs. (Photo/LATAM)[/caption] Bianchi said it is likely LATAM will exercise at least some of the four options, with tentative redeliveries between 2022 and 2023. This is the second BCF order the carrier has made, after placing a three-unit conversion order in late 2017. The three aircraft, all 2006-vintage frames, were selected from the group’s passenger fleet, with the third completed in December 2019 . Like those three aircraft, Bianchi confirmed to Cargo Facts that LATAM will be sending its own passenger frames to be converted at the ST Engineering facility in Singapore (QPG), currently the only 767-300BCF conversion site after Evergreen Aviation Technologies (EGAT) in Taipei (TPE) stepped away from conversion work at the end of 2019. In response to elevated demand for 767 conversions, Boeing announced a second line with ST Engineering in 2019. The following four aircraft are currently at QPG: 26329 (ex-LATAM) for SF Airlines, which arrived last October; 30342 (ex-Pegas Fly) for SF Airlines, which arrived last November; and 33085 and 33082 (both ex-American Airlines) for DHL Express, both of which arrived in February 2021. Cargo Facts believes ST will begin work on at least one other ex-American Airlines frame for DHL in the next few months. LATAM said it has not yet determined the candidate aircraft with certainty and noted that it is not necessarily tied to selecting the oldest passenger 767s in the fleet, which are currently between thirteen and fifteen years old. LATAM’s three 767-300BCFs are all around fourteen to fifteen years old, while the eight production 767-300Fs range from around fourteen to twenty-three years in age. Another 767-300F (34627) is subleased to Mexico-based MasAir. As of Sept 30, 2020, LATAM had twenty-eight 767-300ERs in its fleet. Many of the 767s previously operated by the group have gone on to become converted freighters, joining companies such as SF Airlines, Atlas Air and Cargo Aircraft Management (CAM). With an even larger fleet of 767-300Fs, which Bianchi calls the “ideal” freighter type for Latin America, LATAM will not only be able to gain a deeper foothold in the major markets it already serves, but also transition some secondary routes into primary lanes. According to Bianchi, the carrier also intends to ramp up frequencies on its European routes and look at expanding beyond Miami, currently the dominant cargo hub for Latin America. Bianchi also said LATAM Cargo is considering other new opportunities stemming from e-commerce growth. This could include ACMI flying for third parties, both domestically or regionally. LATAM is currently still operating up to around eight cargo-only flights with its passenger widebodies, and may reconfigure the 767s destined for conversion by removing seats from the cabin, said Bianchi. At one point last year, most of the airline’s 767-300ERs, 777-300ERs and 787s were allocated to cargo-only flying, but Bianchi said he expects passenger-freighter operations to start diluting during the next few months. LATAM ’s Brazilian affiliate also has a single 777F in the Boeing backlog that remains from before the merger of Chile-headquartered LAN and Brazil-based TAM, completed in 2012. The only other scheduled combination carriers with 767-300BCFs are: ANA, with five; Uzbekistan Airways, with two; and Royal Air Maroc, with one. The other operators are Atlas Air, SF Airlines, UPS, Cargojet, Air Transport International, Kalitta Air and DHL Aero Expreso. Cargo Facts Asia, taking place April 20-21 as a virtual experience, is the event for exploring opportunity in the Asia-Pacific region. The event continues to bring together the best, brightest, and most innovative executives in the global air cargo industry. Learn more and register at www.cargofactsasia.com .

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LATAM accelerates expansion with up to eight 767-300BCFs

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CFC: US air trade showing healthy growth in 2021

Watch: CFC presents its 20-year freighter forecast

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