LATAM Airlines Group is planning to further cut its mainline freight capacity next year as, despite a slight improvement in the Brazilian economy and its outlook, demand still remains weak.

In its latest third quarter financial filing, the Panamerican operator said its cargo revenue had dropped by 14.3% to USD266 million during the third quarter of this year as compared to USD310 million during the same period last year. In total, the sector has registered a near 20% decline in year-on-year revenue to date brought on by a 9.2% decline in traffic for the same period.

As such, during 2017, LATAM plans to park one of its three B777-Fs in service with LATAM Cargo Chile (UC, Santiago de Chile) while another B767-300F will also be withdrawn.

In all, the carrier group will employ two B777(F)s and six B767(F)s (spread across LATAM Cargo Chile, LATAM Cargo Colombia, LATAM Cargo Brasil, and LATAM Cargo Mexico) in 2017 down from the three B777(F)s and eight B767(F)s it operated in 2015.