LATAM Cargo Air Cargo

Full name

LATAM Cargo — the cargo division of LATAM Airlines Group (formed in 2012 by the merger of Chile's LAN Airlines and Brazil's TAM). It consolidates LAN Cargo (Chile), TAM Cargo (Brazil), LATAM Cargo Colombia and MasAir (Mexico). It is the largest cargo airline group in South America.

Country

Chile (South America) — group head office in Santiago; operations across Chile, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico and Peru.

Headquarters & hub

Head office: Ricso 5411, 20th floor, Las Condes, Santiago, Chile. Main cargo hubs: Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport, Santiago (SCL); São Paulo/Guarulhos (GRU); and Miami International (MIA).

Founded

Cargo roots trace to 22 May 1970 (LAN Cargo separated from LAN-Chile). The LATAM Airlines Group was created in 2012 (LAN + TAM merger) and the cargo brand was rebranded to LATAM Cargo in 2016.

Key strengths

Largest South American cargo network — 140+ destinations in ~29 countries; three strategically placed hubs (SCL, GRU, MIA) connecting South America with North America, Europe and Asia; strong perishable / pharma / dangerous-goods handling (FRESH product); dedicated freighter fleet plus extensive passenger-belly capacity across the LATAM group; local offices in China.

Fleet overview

An all-freighter fleet operated by the group's cargo subsidiaries, centred on the Boeing 767-300F (and 767-300ER/BCF converted freighters). LATAM Cargo Chile alone operates around 9 freighters (mid-2025); the group's total freighter fleet across Chile / Brazil / Colombia / Mexico is in the high-teens to ~20 aircraft. (Earlier Boeing 777F and 707/DC-8 types have been retired.)

IATA 2-letter code

UC (LATAM Cargo Chile). The group's passenger code is LA.

Air Waybill prefix

045 (three-digit IATA accounting prefix shared by the LATAM group, distinct from the IATA code).

Official website

www.latamcargo.com

For Chinese manufacturers and traders, LATAM Cargo is the single most logical air bridge into South America. The continent is geographically isolated and poorly served by sea for time-critical goods, so air freight is often the only realistic option for electronics, auto parts, machinery, pharmaceuticals, e-commerce parcels and high-value consumer goods heading to Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Peru and Colombia. LATAM Cargo is the largest cargo airline group in the region, covering 140+ destinations in about 29 countries, which means a single booking and a single air waybill (prefix 045) can carry goods from a Chinese gateway deep into South American markets that most other carriers only reach via multiple hand-offs. That network density translates directly into better pricing, more frequent departures and shorter transit times than stitching together separate legs.

The three-hub structure — Santiago (SCL), São Paulo (GRU) and Miami (MIA) — is what makes the China–South America lane work efficiently. China-origin cargo is consolidated onto LATAM Cargo freighters (or passenger-belly capacity) and fed into these hubs, then distributed across the continent on the group's own freighter and belly network. Miami in particular is a powerful transshipment point for any shipment that also needs US coverage, while GRU opens Brazil — South America's largest economy — and SCL opens the Pacific-coast markets and the fast-growing Asian trade. Because LATAM Cargo also runs the reverse lane (Chilean cherries, salmon, flowers and other perishables to China), its cold-chain and perishable-handling know-how is battle-tested; the same FRESH product discipline benefits China-bound sensitive cargo and gives Chinese shippers confidence in pharma and temperature-controlled movements both ways.

Local presence is the third advantage. Unlike many long-haul cargo carriers, LATAM Cargo keeps offices in Beijing and Shanghai, so Chinese shippers get local-language support, faster quote turnaround and direct coordination rather than dealing with a distant call centre. Booking through Goodhope Freight layers on consolidated buying power, China export documentation, customs clearance and door-to-door tracking under one partner. For special cargo, LATAM Cargo is equipped for dangerous goods, live animals, oversize/protected loads and time-critical express product, with e-tracking visibility throughout. In short, if your destination is South America, LATAM Cargo gives Chinese exporters the broadest reach, the most frequent lifts and the strongest local support on the lane — a combination that few competitors can match for this trade.

LATAM Cargo's network is organised around three hubs that together give South America its deepest air-cargo reach. Santiago (SCL) is the Pacific-rim gateway and the natural entry point for Asia–South America trade; São Paulo/Guarulhos (GRU) is Latin America's busiest air-freight hub and the door to Brazil, the region's largest economy; and Miami (MIA) is the North-American and transshipment hub that also links the network to US and Caribbean demand. From these three points, LATAM Cargo's freighters and the group's extensive passenger-belly capacity fan out to more than 140 destinations in roughly 29 countries — covering every major South American market plus key nodes in North America and Europe. This shape means a single import into a hub can be redistributed across the continent within hours, and exports from Chile, Brazil, Argentina, Peru, Colombia and beyond can consolidate back for the long-haul leg to China.

The fleet is built almost entirely on the Boeing 767 freighter platform — 767-300F factory freighters and 767-300ER/BCF converted freighters — which suits the medium/long-haul South American lanes and keeps unit costs competitive. The group's total freighter fleet (across Chile, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico/MasAir) is in the high-teens to about twenty aircraft, and LATAM Cargo has historically added temporary freighters during the cherry and flower peaks to absorb seasonal surges. That elasticity is valuable for Chinese shippers because the Asia–South America lane is itself seasonal and event-driven (Chinese New Year demand for Chilean fruit, flower peaks, e-commerce events), so capacity can be scaled up when needed.

For specialised cargo, LATAM Cargo's product set is broad. Its FRESH product is purpose-built for perishables — cherries, salmon, flowers, berries — with temperature management and fast transit that the Chile→China cherry trade (about 45 hours door-to-door) demonstrates. Pharmaceuticals and other temperature-sensitive goods benefit from the same cold-chain discipline, while the carrier is certified for dangerous goods, live animals, oversize/protected loads and time-critical express shipments, all trackable through its e-tracking tools. Where scheduled capacity is insufficient, charter or ad-hoc freighter arrangements can be explored. As always, specific flight schedules, equipment and dangerous-goods acceptance should be treated as and verified with Goodhope Freight or LATAM Cargo before tendering specialized shipments. With three hubs, the widest South American network, a proven perishable lane to China and local offices in Beijing and Shanghai, LATAM Cargo is the reference carrier for Chinese exporters targeting South America.