Freighters to the rescue
A key component that had been missing from this vision has been scheduled freighter service between DFW and destinations in South America. That, too, is changing. In June, Cargojet began operating a 767-300 freighter on an ACMI basis for Air Canada Cargo, offering scheduled service between Toronto and Mexico City via DFW. Moving forward, the true game-changer could be the recent metal-neutral agreement between American Airlines and LATAM. Ackerman said he is optimistic that, as a result of this deal, DFW could soon see some LATAM freighters.
So far, the new strategy may be working. Since last year, growth has returned to DFW’s cargo operations. The airport’s 2015 cargo handle was up 3.3 percent, year-over-year, and 2016 is seeing cargo growth more than doubling the pace of passenger traffic growth – up 3.3 percent, y-o-y, through April, compared with 1.2 percent for passenger volumes.
There’s now a good chance the Avocado Lady’s Mexican avocados are arrive in China by way of Dallas, but that’s only a tiny fraction of the volume. Latin America has many perishables to offer, and, if DFW keeps thinking like a savvy forwarder, these other foodstuffs may pass through Dallas as well.