Avianca Cargo has launched a new weekly freighter connection between Bogota in its home nation of Colombia and Caracas in Venezuela.
The new Airbus A330F link launched on March 7, offering up to 60 tons of capacity on each flight.
That maindeck capacity adds to 7 tons of weekly belly cargo capacity available on Avianca passenger flights to Caracas.
Diogo Elías, chief executive of Avianca Cargo, declared: “With this new freighter operation between Colombia and Venezuela, Avianca Cargo is strengthening logistics flows between the two countries and expanding air cargo transport options across the region.
“The first direct [all-cargo] operation between Bogota and Caracas will operate with a weekly frequency, with plans to gradually increase capacity in line with market demand.”
Alongside the relaunch of dedicated freighter operations over this 2-city direct link, Avianca has also announced that it is now taking bookings for a second daily passenger frequency on the Bogota-Caracas route.
Direct flights were only resumed by Avianca between Bogota and Caracas in February this year, after a long period of suspension of connectivity.
The carrier’s return to Caracas formed part of a broader re-set by the global aviation industry in the wake of political change in Venezuela and the end of Nicolás Maduro’s rule at the start of this year.
Flower power
Avianca Cargo offers the capacity of all-cargo flights and the belly space available on passenger flights serving more than 70 destinations In Latin America, the US and Europe.
In other news, in early February Avianca Cargo confirmed that it had seen its flower volumes transported to the US for the upcoming Valentine’s Day increase this year, thanks to increased capacity and a workforce expansion.
The airline said that its Valentine’s Day flower volumes were up 6% year on year to more than 19,000 tons – its highest in five years.
The carrier operated a total of almost 320 cargo flights during the 22-day season, moving flowers from Ecuador and Colombia to its US stations in Miami and Los Angeles.
