On January 3, Air Canada Cargo inaugurated its first operations in Latin America to increase the transportation of local products between the region and Canada.
The airline arrived on January 3 in Quito (UIO), Ecuador, and Lima (LIM), Peru, from Toronto (YYZ) and Miami (MIA) with its recently converted Boeing 767-300 (ER) (BDSF) freighter aircraft, capable of carrying 58 tons. The operations will have a frequency of three flights per week, which would be equivalent to a supply of 174 tons of cargo between South America and North America every 7 days.
In the past, Air Canada had been operating cargo services with its Airbus A330-300 between July 2020 and December 2021, but the aircraft does not have the capabilities to carry large volumes of cargo, as it had been temporarily modified. Since Peru and Ecuador signed a free trade agreement with Canada, cargo volumes have increased. The Canadian airline will seek to meet the growing demand for agro-exports, manufacturing, and jewelry.
Air Canada Cargo plans to take delivery of eight Boeing 767-300 (ER) (BDSF) aircraft for operations to Mexico, Guadalajara, Quito, Lima, and, soon, Madrid from Toronto. In Canada, they will connect Montreal, Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver and plan to include Halifax and St. John’s in the network.
As of March 2020, Air Canada has operated more than 13,000 cargo flights worldwide using its widebody passenger aircraft, as well as some temporarily modified Boeing 777 and Airbus A330 aircraft, which have additional cargo space available due to the removal of seats from the passenger cabin.
Schedules to Ecuador and Peru
| Flights | From | Arrival | To | Departure |
| AC 7255 | Toronto (YYZ) | 19:30 | Miami (MIA) | 22:57 |
| AC 7255 | Miami (MIA) | 00:25 | Quito (UIO) | 04:38 |
| AC 7255 | Quito (UIO) | 06:05 | Lima (LIM) | 08:30 |
| AC 7254 | Lima (LIM) | 10:30 | Toronto (YYZ) | 18:35 |
Flights will arrive and depart from Quito and Lima on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
Agro-exports account for 18% of Peru’s exports, it was highlighted in 2021 foreign shipments of avocado or avocado, which recorded sales of 1,156 million dollars, and blueberry or blueberry, which approached 1,000 million dollars in sales, according to the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism. Sales of fan shells, fishmeal, fish oil, and fish fillet have also grown between 2020 and 2021.
In agreement with the Ecuadorian Federation of Exporters, the 10 most exported food products totaled more than USD 10,410 million in foreign trade, between January and September 2021. Highlights include canned fish, cocoa and its processing, broccoli, and vegetable oils. Ecuador is the second-largest exporter of tuna in the world and the largest exporter of bananas worldwide.
