Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings has expanded its partnership with Cainiao Network, the logistics wing of Alibaba Group, to enhance the expanding commerce between China and Latin America.
With the launch of daily flights, Cainiao’s weekly cargo volume from China to Latin America has increased to 144% when compared to last October, when there were only three flights per week. Pursuant to the agreement, Atlas Air has added a fifth Boeing 747-400F to fly between Hong Kong (HKG) and Santiago de Chile (SCL), with stopovers in Anchorage (ANC), Miami (MIA), and Sao Paulo (GRU).
This expanded fleet builds on the successful partnership between the two companies, which was launched in October 2020, with Atlas operating three weekly dedicated charter flights to Cainiao, connecting Hong Kong with Brazil and Chile. The current Atlas-Cainiao partnership has improved overall warehousing distribution and airfreight efficiency by over 40% between the two regions.
According to Cainiao, the number of packages shipped to Brazil in September 2021 increased by 200% compared to the same month last year. In response to the strong growth, Cainiao implemented a “12-day delivery service” in major metropolitan areas in Brazil. In addition, it also plans to establish a distribution center in Brazil to offer next-day or even same-day delivery in partnership with local delivery companies.
“Our partnership with Atlas Air continues to solidify our network between South America and other destinations around the world as we further enhance Cainiao’s capabilities to support traders worldwide efficiently and reliably,” said William Xiong, Chief Strategist and General Manager of Export Logistics at Cainiao.
“We are very pleased that Cainiao and Alibaba have chosen Atlas as a strategic growth partner,” said President and CEO John W. Dietrich, Atlas Air Worldwide.
“Through our successful relationship over the past year, Atlas’ global operational capabilities have empowered Cainiao to continue to offer its customers faster deliveries around the world. We are excited to add incremental capacity in support of this growing partnership,” concluded Dietrich.
Chile experiences an increase in cargo operations
According to data obtained by Aviacionline through the Chilean Civil Aeronautics Board, during the January-September period airlines transported 307,945 tons with international origin or destination, representing a growth of 20.8% compared to the same period in 2020 and 12.5% with 2019.
Currently, LATAM Group with 38.9% of the share dominates the international cargo market, Atlas Air is in second place with 19.7% and Kalitta Air closes the podium with 9.9%.
Other all-cargo airlines are Avianca Cargo, China Eastern Cargo, Ethiopian Airlines Cargo, Emirates Sky Cargo, Martinair Cargo, Korean Air Cargo, Qatar Airways Cargo, Sky Lease Cargo, UPS Airlines, and DHL Aero Expreso, the latter having inaugurated its services between Miami and Santiago with a stopover in Panama two months ago with a daily service.
In addition, there are commercial and special flights by passenger airlines, such as American Airlines, Iberia, Swiss International Air Lines, Air Canada, and others that carry a different percentage of cargo in the bellies of their aircraft.
