The air freight arm of Chilean airline LAN Airlines, LAN Cargo,  has been given the go-ahead by Columbian authorities to create a new cargo affiliate in the country.

Having received the blessing of Columbian authorities, LAN Cargo has now initiated the operational and technical certification process that is required to get the affiliate of the ground.  The process, which is estimated to take some six months to complete will see the affiliate start operations in the first quarter of 2009.

Once operational, the yet unnamed affiliate, will provide air freight capacity ex Columbia to a number of destinations within both North and South America, via a fleet of Boeing 767-300F freighter aircraft.  The affiliate set to capitalise on both the significant export market from Columbia to the United States, as well as to other Latin America destinations.

The Columbian affiliate, according to LAN Cargo will be managed by a host of Columbian managers and technical staff will have access to LAN Cargo and its affiliates’ broad network of routes within the region.

Speaking to the expansion of LAN Cargo in Latin America, including the new Columbian affiliate, the Chief Executive Officer of LAN Cargo, Cristian Ureta, said that "we are very pleased to continue with the consolidation of our cargo network, connecting the region’s main productive centers and markets, while reaffirming LAN Cargo’s objective of uniting Latin America with the rest of the world."

LAN Cargo, part of LAN Airlines utilizes capacity in LAN Airlines passenger aircraft as well operating a fleet of nine dedicated freight aircraft.

Source: Business Wire

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