Many airlines have been as busy as bees in the run-up to this year’s Valentine’s Day, transporting myriad flowers around the world.

American Airlines, which carried more than 8,000 tonnes of flowers in 2016, has been taking advantage of its extensive network in Latin America, where flowers are a major export. According to AA, it began worldwide shipments for Valentine’s Day during the first week of February and will transport an average of 10 to 15 tonnes of fresh cut flowers out of Amsterdam alone during the first couple of weeks.

AA will also launch a daily passenger flight between Dallas/Fort Worth and Amsterdam in May 2017 using a Boeing 767-300ER, which will support its flower and perishables business ahead of Mother’s Day.

“The first five months of the year are the busiest for the flower industry,” said Andy Cornwell, regional manager of cargo sales for Northern Europe at AA. “Essentially, Valentine’s Day, Easter and Mother’s Day all drive demand and require that we go the extra mile to deliver on the needs of our customers – and, ultimately, their customers. At the end of the day, our passion is creating smiles, which is really the catalyst for the superior, flexible service that we provide. We understand our customers and take pride in meeting and exceeding the demands of their respective industries.”

IAG Cargo saw an 18% year-on-year increase in its flower volumes out of Colombia and Ecuador during the two weeks before Valentine’s Day, consisting primarily of carnations and roses. The carrier also transported luxury chocolates from Belgium and Switzerland to Asia and the US.

“This year we’ve seen an increase in customers shipping flowers via our time-critical offering, Prioritise, which enables access to a high volume of same day connections via our London and Madrid hubs to the rest of the world,” said David Shepherd, commercial director at IAG Cargo. “The weak pound and euro and the demand for more western-style foods in China has undoubtedly helped to boost the volumes of high-end chocolate coming out of Europe. We’ve also seen greater volumes coming through from smaller, specialist floriculture forwarders based in Latin America looking to reach a diverse range of markets at one of the most important times of the year.”

Emirates SkyCargo has even applied a special rose decal onto one of its 777Fs to highlight the importance of air freight to the floriculture industry.

The carrier then flew the 777 to Nairobi, where the aircraft picked up a consignment of flowers before heading to Amsterdam, the world’s largest flower distribution centre.

SkyCargo, which transported 70,000 tonnes of fresh flowers around the world in 2016, operated four extra freighters from Nairobi in the week leading up to Valentine’s Day this year in addition to its scheduled daily freighter flight, bringing almost 350 tonnes of flowers to Amsterdam. It also deployed additional capacity between Quito and Amsterdam to supplement its thrice-weekly flight.

LATAM Cargo transported approximately 9,000 tonnes of flowers in the three weeks before Valentine’s Day, amounting to more than 160 million bouquets and 21% of the Latin American flower market during this period.

The overwhelming majority originated from Bogotá and Quito, from which LATAM operated over 140 flights between January 16 and February 7, tripling the number of average weekly air cargo shipments.

“LATAM Cargo has had a successful season, delivering the flights necessary to meet the demand of all our customers, as well as providing the necessary resources in our origin and destination warehouses, which are fundamental in this demanding time of the year,” said Felipe Caballero, commercial manager of North and Central America at LATAM Cargo.

The main destination was Miami, where LATAM brought 7,500 tonnes of flowers this season. About 90% stayed within the state of Florida while 10% were transported to other parts of the US.

According to LATAM, it carried over 100,000 tonnes of flowers from Colombia and Ecuador in 2016, consisting mainly of red roses, carnations, pompoms and chrysanthemums.

“For LATAM Cargo, the flower market represents a significant part of our cargo operations in Colombia and Ecuador, accounting for about 57% of the cargo we transport annually from Latin America to North America and Europe, through weekly operations from Medellín, Bogotá and Quito,” said Caballero.

Colombia-based Avianca Cargo transported 11,200 tonnes of flowers between January 16 and February 7, 2017, posting a 15% year-on-year increase in volume. The carrier operated 175 flights that were exclusively dedicated to flowers including roses, carnation, hydrangeas, chrysanthemums, gypsophila and alstroemerias.

Like LATAM, Avianca also flew most of the flowers to Miami, where they then headed to destinations in Asia, Europe and the Americas. The carrier operated additional charter flights to Los Angeles, Miami and San Juan, Puerto Rico to meet the increased demand.

Andres Osorio, general director of Avianca Cargo, said that he and his team were proud of the success this season.

“Not only did we exceed the volume of flowers transported last year, we also showed the quality and professionalism of our processes that allow us to fulfill the needs of the flower industry in the region,” he said. “It is gratifying to know that our team played an active role in the flower supply chain of countries around the world that celebrate this special date.”