He explained that during 2012 Lufthansa had an increase of 14.4 percent passengers on the Mexico-Frankfurt route with more than 212,000 passengers. He also said that negotiations are under way with the DGAC to launch the B747-800 aircraft on the route which is needed due to the higher than 9-percent load factor on existing flights. "This aircraft can land in the AIC, and we are already operating the cargo version of the B747 there," he says. The B747-8 aircraft will carry 10 percent more passengers. He also stated that the airline is looking to increase traffic through code sharing agreements with other airlines to New York, Houston and Miami and connect with other markets in Europe.
In other airfreight news, Tampa Cargo S.A., the cargo airline of AviancaTaca Holding S.A, headquartered in Colombia, officially incorporated the first of four new Airbus A330-200F freighters purchased by the company. With the addition of the new eco-efficient aircraft on routes to and from Colombia, the United States, Mexico, Brazil and Peru, Tampa Cargo S.A. offers its customers in Latin America and the United States a modern and efficient tool to provide greater cargo capacity for transporting goods and merchandise.
Tampa Cargo officials feel the new Airbus A330-200F is an ideal mid-sized freighter to cover international routes to destinations with high operational demand. These aircraft, with a capacity to transport up to 70 tons of cargo with a range of 4,000 nautical miles, are part of AviancaTaca's strategy to consolidate its capacity to transport freight in the region. Fabio Villegas Ramirez, AviancaTaca's SEO, says: "Trends in the cargo market throughout the Americas encourage us to expand this part of our business. We want both importers and exporters in the region to see AviancaTaca and Tampa Cargo as optimal partners for fulfilling their business objectives. We expect this first Airbus A330-200F freight-only model to become an invaluable support to companies who need to move goods and merchandise throughout the continent."
