b'42American Journal ofTransportation ajot.com(THROTTLINGcontinued from you name it, Elias smiles. Among them: Bogota, Medellin, Miamicargocommunitysystemsprogramthat page 38) Interestingly,Aviancadoeshaveand Los Angeles which moves large vol- digitally processes, tracks and documents in 2025, officials say. directpassengerorfreighterservicetoumes of perishables. truck traffic moving though the airport. AviancahaslonghadahistoryofAsia, but Elias points out the carrier hasOverall,DiogoEliasisoptimisticMIAs CEO emphasizes that Miami acquiring or partnering with other airlinesinterlinepartnershipswithlargeinterna- about Aviancas air cargo volume in the-Dade County Mayor Cava is our biggest whichhashelpedfuelitsrecoveryandtionalairlinesthatserveglobalmarkets.remainder of 2024 and throughout nextfan and has been extremely, extremely routeexpansion.Forexample,in2013For instance, Avianca has partnered withyear.He sees more capacity to Asia andsupportive of everything MIAs execu-Avianca merged with El Salvador-basedTurkish Airlines for Europe and beyond,Europe, which the airline could capitalizetive leadership is doing to upgrade and TACAAirlinesandtodayisthethirdCathayPacificwhichblanketsAsia,on. Currently, the Bogota -based airlinesstreamlinetheairportinfrastructureas busiest carrier flying in and out of MiamiNippon Cargo Airlines (NCA) for Japan.air cargo volume is 15% ahead of where itits passenger and cargo volumes climb. International Airport (MIA). They take cargo to South America, or ourwas pre-COVID. Wehaveatotal$9billioncapital Buttheairlinesmostsignificantmarkets and we distribute the shipments toimprovement,expansion,modernization newsforfreightforwardersandship- our network of destinations, he explains.and maintenance program here which is pers happened rapid fire in the past fewOntheoutbound,wecanexportcom- (BOOSTcontinued from page 40) unprecedented, says Cutie. months of this yearin addition to themodities like salmon, vegetables and otherhavehadproductivecreativepartner- One important decision to be made opening of the four destinations. perishables to Asia and elsewhere. shipsovertheyears,specificallyanis what to do with MIAs existing U.S. In July, Avianca Cargo, (once knownOntheotherhand, Aviancaisnotocean-to-airperishablestrans-shipmentCustomsClearancefacilitywhichgets as Tampa Cargo was 100% acquired bydirectlyparticipatingintheboomingaimed at strengthening and diversifyingbacked up as the airports seven ground Avianca in 2008, and its commercial part- wind power market which move via trans- their combined cargo business. handlingfirmsarereceivingagrowing ner, AeroUnion,a22-year-oldMexico- pacific and European marine vessels andInastatement,MIAsaidthefirstvolume of international air cargo. Cutie based freighter airline) took delivery ofairfreighters.Eliasnotesthatthehugetrans-shipment included 10 tons of peassays the choices are to renovate the cur-the first of five wide-bodied Airbus A330projectcargoesthatmakeupthewindfrom Guatemala shipped north to Miamisrent Customs facility, build a new one or P2Fs that had been converted from a pas- towers do not always fit in the confinesPort Everglades aboard a Crowley Mari- explore other options.Discussions on a senger plane to an all-cargo jet. The air- of the wide-bodied freighters currently intime Corp. vessel. The peas were truckeddecision are ongoing with the US Cus-craft acquisition marked the first year ofthe Avianca or AeroUnion fleets. But theto MIA and loaded on a (now defunct)toms and Border Protection.the collaboration of the two airlines, saysairlinedoeshavecapacityandconnec- Centurion Cargo freighter and flown toWhile MIA is evaluating expansion to DiogoElias,seniorvicepresidentandtions for smaller components required inAmsterdams Schiphol Airport. accommodate future growth, Atlas Air, its leader of Avianca Cargo. Four more A330the fast-growing sector of the alternativeMIAs leadership at the time securedbiggest cargo carrier, is in negotiations to P2Ffreighterswillbeaddedlaterthisenergy market. a permit for the transshipment programbuild a new on-tarmac warehouse.Asked year and next, he adds. Indeed, AviancahasnotchosentofromtheUSDepartmentofAgricul- if Atlas Airs expansion is driven by the TheconvertedA330P2Ffreighter,blankettheworldwithon-linestationsture and from US Customs and Bordersharphikeine-commercecargo,Cutie with a 61-ton payload and 37 pallet posi- simply to boast of an aggressive globalProtection.Cutiesaystheseaportandcould not confirm or deny it. However, tions versus 32 positions in a A300-200expansioneffort.Managementappearsairport collaborate regularly. The sea- he does say that MIAs total e-commerce freighter, will increase cargo capacity bymore cautious. The airline, with 55 des- port director, Heidi Webb, and I are verytonnage projections are up roughly 20 60 percent compared to the existing air- tinations in Latin America, has staked outclose friends, talk almost every day andpercent. I can tell you that e-commerce craftintheAviancaCargo-AeroUnionboth large and smaller niche markets forcontinue to explore innovative (transportreally carried us during COVID.jointfreighternetwork,explainsElias.local air shippers and forwarders. andlogistics)concepts.Anythingthat(AtlasAirhadalongstandingrela-(Avianca Cargo currently operates six ofimpactsus,impactsthem.Wearethetionshipwithgiante-commerceretailer its own A330 freighters while AeroUnionn otc hasInge-c ommerce .number one and number two economicAmazonatMIAwhichinvolvedtwo owns five). The A330 P2V is an ideal air- r Ightn ow engines in the region. Prime Air 767-300 freighters serving US craft due to its higher volumetric capacity,Indeed, Aviancaits passenger andcities daily. But the contract ended this past lower environmental impact and enhancedall-cargo flightsisnt simply chasingl atIna merIcanh ub May. Atlas Air is now redeploying seven-fuel efficiency per ton, he adds.high-volume tonnages to fill up its bellyMiami International Airport (MIA)teen767 freighters and eight 737-800 all The new freighter will transport fruits,spaceandfreightercapacity.Askedifis LATAM Cargos most important opera- cargo jets to its other global customers. On flowers and other perishable products plusthe airline has courted Amazon with itstional hub, serving as a key connectionthe other hand, Amazon has four existing oversized or project cargoes for the auto- daily air cargo lift requirements to movepoint between North and South America.warehouses in and around Miami).motive,mining,oilsectorsande-com- ithugeandfast-growinge-commerceThisstrategichubnotonlystrengthensMIAismorethanjustanairport. merce along the west coasts of the US andtraffic in Latin America or beyond, Eliasour routes between the two continents butIts entire 3,230 acres is designated as a Latin America, says the Avianca official. was candid. also enables us to expand our services toforeign trade zone magnet site. The first Our core business is mostly sched- Europe and Asia, which are crucial mar- operator within MIAs FTZ is LATAM f reIghterf lIghts uled, he says. If there was an oppor- kets for our clients. As a result, we oper- Cargo, its second busiest airline. LATAM WhileAviancaCargohas220tunityforascheduledflightwiththemate the largest warehouse at the airport,Cargo ships its aircraft parts from Chile freighter flights a week, forwarders and(Amazon), sure, we would look at it. Wecoveringapproximately31,000squaretoitsmaintenancefacilityatMIAfor shippers have access to more than 1,800carry Amazon e-commerce cargo. But wemeters, and the most extensive cold stor- repair and then sends them back to South passengerflightswithbellylift.Fordo not negotiate directly with the com- age facility, essential for maintaining theAmerica,allwithoutpayingfederal example, Avianca re-launched its Bogotapany. Our forwardersour direct cus- quality of perishable goods such as flow- import taxes. toParisroutethisJulyaftera20-yeartomersdo that. ers and salmon. Last year, we made a sig- Looking ahead, Cutie says there are absence,usingawide-bodiedBoeingBut the cargo executive cuts directlynificant investment to renew our facility40,000 airports in the world and 20,000 787Dreamliner.Theairplanesbellyto a more realistic reason for not targetingusage contract for the next 13 years, asin the US. And while MIA is very close cargo space and five weekly frequenciesthe massive on-line marketers traffic. Iwellastoincorporateimprovementsinto the top in terms of domestic and inter-on the route boosts Aviancas capacity todont currently have an ACMI freighterinfrastructure,sustainability,andsafety,nationalairportrankingsincargoand more than 900 tons a week from Latindedicatedtoonecustomer,however,Iensuringthecontinuedexcellenceandpassenger volumes, it is on the hunt for America to Europe, the airlines top airwouldnt say no. But we are not looking atreliabilityofourservices,commentsmore foreign flag carriers. Cutie will not cargo executive says. Besides Paris, theit (full-freighter e-commerce) right now. Daniel Leng, COO at LATAM Cargo. identify all the airlines he is wooing for return of the route gives Avianca greaterInstead,Aviancahasbeenfocus- Cutie, who has worked for Miami- MIA.Hedoessaytwoofthecarriers connectivity between 23 Latin Americaning on providing more cargo in CentralDade County for 34 years, has been withare based in the Middle East, other than countriesandMadrid,BarcelonaandAmericanmarketslargeandsmall,MIA for nearly 12 years and has been theEmirates, which already flies to Miami London, he adds. Eliassays,citingSanJose,CostaRicaairport CEO and director for three years,International.Another is Japan Airlines AviancaCargoisnotgoingtoand others including Mexico, Panama andcandidlyconcedesMIAsuffersfromaor JAL which could provide shippers and diversifyitsfreighterfleet.WeareEl Salvador.problemfacedbymanyofthebiggerpassengers with a non-stop flight from sticking with the A330s. Theyre nearlyLooking ahead, Elias discloses thatUS airportstruck congestion during airTokyo to Miami.brandnew,oneofthemostefficientAviancaislookingatmorethanonecargo pickup and delivery runs. Thatwouldbehistoricforus medium sized aircraft operating in Latinnew destination for new service and atWe are seeing an uptick in conges- because it would be the first direct flight America,saysElias.Inhighdemandleastonewillbeannouncedthisyear,tionintrucktraffic,obviouslybecausebetween MIA and any location in Asia. seasons,theairlinewillrentspaceonalthough he would not divulge the nameof the increase in air cargo over the lastButitwillnothappenforacoupleof another carrier or will wet lease anotheroridentifyothers.Withthe AeroUnionfour years, he tells the AJOT. But MIAyears, says the CEO. Meantime, we are aircraft that will fit the volume shipped. freighter partnership, its likely that moreistacklingtheproblem,investigatingacurrently on a robust hiring effort.Mexican cities will be added to the net-h Igh -v aluet Ime -s ensItIvef reIght work, although Elias would not confirm Over the years, Avianca has special- theAJOTs prediction.Avianca recently izedinhigh-value,time-sensitiveandaddedMexicancitiesGuadalajaraand variousperishablecommodities,bothMonterey to its route map.northboundandsouthbound,aswellasAviancascargopresenceatLos outsizedprojectfreight.Flowers,forAngelesInternationalAirportincludes example, is our main cargo out of Colom- overfivecargoflightsperweekbutno biaandEcuadortoMiamiandLAX,Avianca Cargo freighters so far.Are San contends Elias. We also move a lot ofFrancisco or San Jose International pos-fruit north from Brazil, Peru, Colombiasiblenewdestinationswherethecargo and Ecuador, fish, mainly salmon out ofteam could attract high value semiconduc-Chile and tuna, fashion out of Brazil, alsotor or technology component freight?We outofEcuador,ColombiaandCentraldo go after those markets, but we truck the Americaand not just to the US but tofreight (from the Bay Area) down to Los Europe, Asia and Canada, he adds. Angeles or sometime all the way to Mexico AviancahascultivatedsouthboundCity or Guadalajara or it flies out of LA to markets from the US and Europe to LatinAsia on another airline, Elias explains.and South America transporting, mainlyAviancahasrecentlyinvestedin on freighters, pharmaceuticals, electron- cool-chain cargo facilities at its strategi-ics, cell phones and parts, semiconductorscally important airports, Elias told AJOT.Additional cool storage will be added in 2029 when the new VICC warehouse opens.'