Seat container: um novo modelo para receitas adicionais no transporte de cargas na Latam Linhas Aéreas Brasil

Abstract

This study investigates the economic feasibility of transporting cargo on the main cabin of commercial passenger aircrafts, known as Seat Container; mixing cargo and passengers on such cabin, for LATAM Airlines Brazil. Such model is used by LATAM Airlines in Peru and Chile and we believe that it has potential to be used also in Brazil. Using seat protections, some rows of passengers seats could be converted into cargo compartments. Commercial airline industry is characterized by high costs and low margins, putting pressure on industry to maximize its revenue by using Revenue Management techniques. Passenger and cargo demand is volatile, whereas the space of an aircraft devoted to each one of these items is generally fixed, creating an unbalance between supply and demand. The Seat Container provides a more flexible supply to passenger and cargo: passenger space can quickly and cheaply be converted into cargo space and also reverted to passenger space once again. A better adjustment between cargo and passenger supply represents a revenue management opportunity to airlines: often, a passenger seat is empty on a flight for which there was an excess of cargo demand that could not be flown due to lack of supply. Also, in many cases, transporting a higher volume of cargo is more profitable than flying an additional passenger, as cargo may pay high yields. Brazil has a large territory and a poor infrastructure, making the access by other transportation means to some regions expensive, slow and, many times, also unsafe – specially towards the Northern Region. Therefore, in some routes, an imbalance between cargo demand and supply may exist, raising cargo yields. Replacing a passenger that pays a low fare ticket by cargo on such situation may be profitable. The study revealed that using Seat Container in Brazil may be profitable, especially on routes towards the North, such as Brasília-Santarém and Brasília-Rio Branco.