More than 13,000 freight forwarder users of OAG Cargo's AFRA Air Freight Rates application will now be able to access real-time air cargo rates from and to Latin America after United and Continental Airlines became the first airline to publish origin rates from the region.

The airline's decision to select OAG Cargo to publish rates to the global AFRA airfreight community is a further boost to OAG Cargo's commitment to growing its presence in the Latin American market.

United and Continental Airlines' agreement with OAG Cargo also incorporates using its In forwarding Announcements service to publish operational and marketing updates to its customers, including new route information and additional frequencies on existing trade lanes. In addition, it will publish its schedules through OAG's Cargo Flights application, enabling cargo agents to create shipments quickly and easily through the scheduled flight look-up service and plan shipments by searching direct and connecting airfreight schedules online.

Working with OAG Cargo gives United and Continental Airlines access to an online global forwarding community that includes nearly 34,000 registered users for Inforwarding Announcements in Europe, the United States and Canada, Asia and Australia. A further 900 forwarders subscribe to the AFRA application accessing over 2.6 million active tariffs published by 660 airlines.

Stephen Baggett, Sales Director, Americas, at OAG Cargo, said: 'We are proud that a carrier of the size and reputation of United and Continental Airlines, now merging to form the world's largest carrier is making this commitment to OAG Cargo and to our global freight forwarder customer base. In particular, United and Continental Airlines' decision to use AFRA to publish its origin rates from Latin America represents a big step forward for us in the region. It is the first airline in this region to publish rates with Brazil, Argentina and Guatemala the first countries in its network to do so.'

Maddy Marrero, Regional Sales Manager, Latin America/Caribbean for United and Continental Airlines Cargo, added: 'With continued growth and economic development, Latin America has become one of the most competitive markets in the world. OAG Cargo offers us the ability to reach out to numerous customers and increase our exposure in the market.'