Andres Bianchi, CEO, LATAM Cargo

Invest: spoke with Andres Bianchi, CEO of LATAM Cargo, about shifting trade flows, Miami’s role as a cargo gateway, and the operational changes needed to keep the region competitive. “We have our largest facility here, so basically, we’re putting our money where our mouth is in terms of the relevance of Miami,” Bianchi said.

What impact have recent changes in global trade and supply chains had on your strategy at LATAM Cargo?

Global supply chains have changed significantly over the last five years. They started changing during COVID and continued with the trade war, forcing shippers to adapt where they source from and how they ship. From our perspective as an airline, that required us to build multiple scenarios to understand how we could properly satisfy our customers’ needs under different conditions. While most of those plans were not implemented, it was a good exercise to understand what we need to do to adapt to a different world.

What advantages does Latin America offer today, and how is that shaping your network?

South America is a premier exporter of perishables, such as flowers from Colombia and Ecuador, salmon from Chile, and fruits from Peru and Brazil. The region has clear competitive advantages in producing those goods, both in terms of quality and cost. However, the past doesn’t need to completely define the future. The region has potential. 

The region has advantages in terms of location, raw materials, energy, and demographics that should allow it to benefit from near-shoring initiatives. That could radically change South America’s export matrix. 

How is nearshoring influencing cargo flows and demand across the Americas?

Nearshoring is easier said than done. Before companies modify their production structure, they have to identify the country where they want to go, then they have to develop the facilities, train the staff, and so on. We are gradually seeing it happen, but the results will take time.

Having said that, when you look at the advantages some of the countries in the region have, they should be able to capitalize on any opportunities that pop up. The key to doing so is to create the right incentives to enable companies to invest in the region. 

What makes Miami such an important hub for LATAM Cargo, and how do you see that role evolving?

Miami is uniquely positioned to connect North America and South America. It is the closest large airport to South America, so it enables a lot of goods to be brought into the United States via Miami and to be shipped from the United States to Latin America. Because of that, Miami is one of the Top 5 airports in the world in terms of cargo transported. It is undoubtedly a great success story in terms of building an international gateway.

Given our positioning, it should be no surprise that Miami is critical to us: 80%-90% of our freighter aircraft touch Miami every day. We have our largest facility here, so basically, we’re putting our money where our mouth is in terms of the relevance of Miami.

In terms of the future, it is important that Miami continues investing to remain competitive and attractive. Longer-range aircraft and more limited trucking capacity within the United States may put Miami under pressure, and thus we need to have better infrastructure that is complemented by technology so as to have world-class transit times.

What improvements are most needed to support Miami’s continued growth as a cargo gateway?

The first thing that comes to mind is agility. Our shippers’ requirements are changing quickly, and the infrastructure needs to match that. When you compare Miami to other airports that are competitors, Miami is still slower in terms of granting permits and enabling us to adapt our facilities to these new changes. The airport is doing a good job modernizing its facilities, and this would go a long way in improving its overall value proposition.

Furthermore, MIA is also an airport that, because of its success, has become capacity constrained in terms of physical space. We need to make each square foot more productive.  Technology offers great tools to be able to do just that.

How are you leveraging technology and AI across the business?

The risk of talking about AI is overselling its potential. Thus, I would much rather talk about the things we are doing, which can be classified into two categories. The first corresponds to AI-based tools that allow our teams to make faster decisions and better decisions, or improve customer interactions. We have reduced wait times in some of our customer-facing processes by 95% to 97%, which is a radical change in terms of the customer experience. 

The second category corresponds to the usage of AI-coding tools that accelerate the development process. We are starting to see a dramatic change not only in the time it takes to build a certain solution, but also in the quality of the solutions that are produced because you can iterate more with the users and therefore get to a final product faster.

Where do you see the biggest opportunities for growth over the next decade?

While the core attributes behind a customers’ decision to use air cargo -speed, reliability, and cost- will probably remain the same, talent and technology will provide new ways to deliver those. The combination of creativity and data will enable our teams to generate new and better solutions, improve reliability, increase our asset utilization, and offer more convenient interactions. More importantly, we will be able to achieve those without necessarily having to make trade-offs among them.

Is there anything else that should be part of the conversation around the future of the industry?

One element that is important to discuss, and that is also relevant to the Miami community in general, is sustainability. We operate in an industry in which sustainability, both on the CO2 side and on the waste side, needs to be addressed, and it needs to be present in every decision we make. That includes operating more efficient planes, but also how we operate those aircraft. Better processes allow us to reduce CO2 emissions as well. 

Also, if we can implement better circular economy practices, we can reduce the footprint the industry has in terms of waste and enable us to be more environmentally friendly.

Those decisions do not necessarily have to be more costly. What we have found is that they can also help you operate more efficiently, so it is a win-win, especially on the waste side.