Capacity crunch looms
Their withdrawal means that roughly 600 tons of capacity will be removed from the market. In the case of Qatar Airways Cargo, it concerns three B777-F flights connecting Luxembourg with South America, accounting for 300+ tons. Martinair used to operate three weekly B747ERF flights from Amsterdam to Viracopos (VCP), with two of the services connecting VCP with Buenos Aires (EZE) and Santiago de Chile (SCL), offering a total of 330 tons.
Forwarding agents are not amused
Why this move and why at this time, i.e. in the middle of the current summer flight schedule period which runs until 27OCT24? These questions come to mind. There are three key considerations. Firstly, the shift of capacities from transatlantic routes to the Far East is based on commercial considerations. There, the rates per kilogram are significantly higher compared to South America rotations. Secondly and related to the aforementioned reason: The e-commerce market is booming on routes to and from China, so shifting additional capacity on sectors served between the Far East and Doha or Amsterdam, is a plausible consideration. Thirdly, rotations between Europe and Buenos Aires, Montevideo, Santiago de Chile or even Viracopos, are time consuming and thus costly. If these services do not generate sufficient margins over a longer-term period, scaling them down or discontinuing the services completely is sensible.
Far East flights pay off more
This is confirmed by Adriaan den Heijer, EVP Cargo at Air France-KLM and Managing Director Martinair: “In the East Asian market, the e-commerce segment is growing steadily, driving increased demand for efficient and reliable air freight solutions. The introduction of this [Martinair’s] new Boeing 747 freighter service [to HKG] is a crucial step in adding main deck capacity to our extensive belly network. This expansion not only strengthens our freighter footprint in Asia, but also offers more options and greater flexibility to our customers. By enhancing our connectivity and broadening our reach, we are better positioned to support the growth and evolving needs of our global customer base.”
Returning after almost a decade
The network change at Martinair (MP) will take effect on 19SEP24. On that day, the airline’s first flight to Hong Kong will take off from Amsterdam, ending an absence of almost nine years. All flights, initially three per week but to be increased to 4/7, will be operated via Dubai, using a Boeing 747-ERF that offers a payload of 110 tons per flight.
At least MP is not withdrawing completely from the subcontinent. Flights to Bogotá will continue with three B747F rotations per week via Miami. The Franco-Dutch group also emphasizes that Air France-KLM operates 145 weekly passenger flights to 24 destinations in Latin America and the Caribbean, offering abundant capacity in their cargo holds.
QR Cargo shifts capacity to Asia and Europe
Qatar Airways Cargo will discontinue the above-mentioned flights to / from South America in the course of September. According to its itinerary, these are 4 weekly frequencies. The carrier enjoys strong partnerships with a number of airlines on routes to Latin America, so that the discontinuation of flights to Santiago and Viracopos could be easily compensated by partners jumping in. One of them is the Chilean airline LATAM and its cargo arm, with which QR is on friendly terms. This amicable pact does not include a capacity agreement between the two airlines, although QR holds a 10% stake in LATAM. A LATAM executive told CargoForwarder Global that without regulatory approval such accords are illegal for compliance reasons.
Further north, QR Cargo will also scrap routes between Europe and the U.S. This affects Atlanta that is completely taken off the route map, among other destinations, while Chicago will continue to be served.
Asked about the network changes, QR Cargo delivered this statement: As the world’s leading cargo airline, operating in a dynamic market, it is our responsibility to address market needs. Our global customers and consumers drive our capacity and market changes, resulting in Qatar Airways Cargo adding extra frequencies to India, China, Vietnam and Europe. The Doha-based cargo carrier serves a global network of more than 60 freighter destinations and 170 passenger destinations utilizing freighters and belly-hold passenger aircraft.
Qatar Airways withdraws its freighters from South America and thins out its North American network – photo: courtesy QR Cargo
Demand tends to outgrow capacity
QR Cargo’s and Martinair’s withdrawal of main deck services from the South American market (except for Bogotá) leads to a considerable capacity gap. This might at least partially be filled by freight hungry Cargolux, Lufthansa Cargo, and LATAM Cargo, which will continue to operate freighters across the South Atlantic as documented in their itineraries. LATAM Cargo, for instance, operates 10 cargo flights per week deploying B767Fs ex Amsterdam, Brussels and Frankfurt, and serving the Brazilian destinations Viracopos, Florianopolis, Curitiba, as well as Montevideo, Buenos Aires, and Santiago de Chile. Thus, the airline holds pole position in freight traffic between Europe and South America. This is a considerable advantage, especially should the demand for air transportation increase moderately or even sharply in the coming peak season.
Cargolux offers customers three B747 freighter flights a week to Viracopos, Rio de Janeiro, Curitiba and Quito, and Lufthansa Cargo operates four freighter frequencies to six destinations, complemented by daily passenger services to Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires, and Bogotá (5/7). The cargo holds in the lower decks of Lufthansa’s jetliners, are roughly equivalent to the capacity of three Triple Seven freighter aircraft.
It is unlikely that EK, EY or TK will fill the capacity gap
It is not known whether the cargo divisions of Emirates, Turkish Airlines, and Etihad have plans to adapt their networks to and from Latin America following the withdrawal of Qatar Airways Cargo and Martinair. Yet even if they do, it will not bother LATAM Cargo, CV Cargo, or Lufthansa Cargo as their peers from the Middle East do not siphon off European produce to first fly them eastbound to their hubs Istanbul, Dubai or Abu Dhabi, and from there westbound across the South Atlantic to Latin American final destinations. Such time and fuel consuming detours make neither commercial nor ecological sense.
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Publish date : 2024-07-28 06:57:00
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