LATAM Airlines Group cargo revenues decreased by 23.2 per cent year on year in the second quarter to reach US$355 million while capacity grew, and southbound demand to South America declined.

Nonetheless, the Santiago-based carrier noted that cargo revenues outperformed the equivalent pre-Covid figure by 32 per cent. Yields were $0.40, 26.2 per cent above yields in the same period of 2019 (but 26.9 per cent down on the 2022 figure).

Capacity in available ton-km (ATK) totalled 1.8 billion for the quarter, up 20.7 per cent on the previous reporting period. Revenue ton-km (RTK) rose five per cent year on year to 889 million, while the load factor fell by 7.6 percentage points to 50.5 per cent.

LATAM Cargo transported 225,000 tons of cargo during the three months, 2.5 per cent more than in the second quarter of 2022.

LATAM Cargo announced two new cargo routes during the April-June period: Miami-Guayaquil and Miami-San Jose Dos Campos.

A highlight of the quarter was Mother's Day, which saw the group transport 19,800 tons of flowers from Colombia and Ecuador to the US.