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Transactions: Etihad Cargo, WFS sign 3-year agreement

Yael Katzwer — Thu, 29 Feb 2024 22:12:54 +0000

Etihad Cargo has signed a three-year agreement with Worldwide Flight Services, a member of the SATS Group, for cargo handling services at 13 airports in Europe, North America and Asia Pacific. Under the agreement, Worldwide Flight Services (WFS) will handle more than 150,000 tonnes of cargo annually for the airline, according to a Feb. 27 […]

Korean Air records stronger 2020 with boost from cargo, cost-saving efforts

Caryn Livingston — Fri, 05 Feb 2021 02:30:53 +0000

Korean Air reported another annual net loss for 2020, but narrowed its losses compared to 2019 thanks to a sharp increase of 66% in cargo sales and lower operating and personnel costs. The airline reported a 17% year-over-year decline in operating income to 238.3 billion Korean won (US$219 million) and a net loss of $210 […]

Korean Air acquires Asiana, more consolidation expected

Cathy Roberson — Wed, 18 Nov 2020 00:51:20 +0000

The global air market consolidation is underway as Korean Air announced its intentions to acquire Asiana Airlines this week. Combined, Korean Air will become the 10th-largest airline by fleet size. In terms of kilometers flown by paying passengers and based on 2019 data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the combined entity will create […]

Airlines ramp up cargo-only flying during peak

Jeff Lee — Thu, 05 Nov 2020 23:06:12 +0000

A number of carriers around the world are continuing to expand cargo-only operations with their passenger aircraft, injecting the market with more capacity as peak season sets in. Delta Air Lines has launched scheduled cargo-only trans-Atlantic flights to destinations in Europe and India to transport fashion goods, pharmaceuticals, vaccines, medical supplies and general cargo, consisting […]

Weekly Wrap: Asian carrier traffic, vaccine shipments and aviation political giving

Caryn Livingston — Fri, 14 Aug 2020 22:35:31 +0000

In this episode of the Air Cargo World Weekly Wrap, airfreight editors Charles Kauffman, Caryn Livingston and Jeff Lee discuss the major news stories for the week of Aug. 10, 2020. Fortunes reversed among some Asian airlines during the second quarter, as Cathay Pacific’s cargo traffic fell below Korean Air, in results that Cathay Chairman […]

Cathay cargo traffic drops below Korean in Q2

Jeff Lee — Wed, 12 Aug 2020 23:08:47 +0000

Like most carriers, Cathay Pacific’s freight tonne kilometers (FTKs) fell sharply in the second quarter of 2020, and the Hong Kong-based airline was overtaken by Korean Air in terms of cargo traffic. Presenting the carrier’s first-half results on Aug. 12, Cathay Chairman Patrick Healy said that the first six months of 2020 had been “the […]

Cargo heavyweights Cathay and Korean reconfigure 777-300ERs

Jeff Lee — Fri, 31 Jul 2020 21:52:41 +0000

Top-ten cargo carriers Cathay Pacific and Korean Air are both taking the extra step of removing seats from 777-300ERs in an attempt to offer more cargo volume and mitigate low passenger demand, showing that the trend of reconfiguring aircraft isn’t finished yet. Cathay Pacific has already completed the modification of two 777-300ERs, while Korean Air […]

Special delivery: Cargo charters fill supply chain gaps

Caryn Livingston — Thu, 19 Mar 2020 16:00:15 +0000

Air traffic loops endlessly around the globe with a chain-like nature. Cargo that departs from Shanghai en route to a final destination in Atlanta might stopover in Anchorage and transfer in Chicago before making its way to the U.S. Gulf Coast, in just one example. Cargo moves along a path forged by thousands of aircraft […]

Qantas, KLM fly passenger aircraft as freighters, Lufthansa and IAG may follow

Jeff Lee — Wed, 18 Mar 2020 17:59:28 +0000

CARGO FACTS — As borders are severely restricted and passenger flights are cancelled around the world because of the COVID-19 pandemic, more airlines are beginning to operate empty passenger aircraft for the sole purpose of carrying cargo, with Qantas and KLM joining the list, and others, such as British Airways and Lufthansa, mulling the idea. Australian […]

Delta to operate passenger planes as freighters for charters

Jeff Lee — Tue, 17 Mar 2020 01:41:21 +0000

CARGO FACTS — Delta Air Lines will join the list of airlines operating passenger aircraft as freighters. The carrier’s entire trans-Atlantic belly network has been nearly eliminated as a result of the U.S. travel ban on foreign nationals from the Schengen Area, the U.K. and Ireland.

Delta Cargo has begun offering charter flights in response to customer demand, particularly for time- and temperature-sensitive shipments. Delta told Cargo Facts these charters will be available for any mainline aircraft to and from thirteen participating airports: Atlanta (ATL), Boston (BOS), Chicago (ORD), Dallas (DFW), Detroit (DTW), Honolulu (HNL), Los Angeles (LAX), Miami (MIA), New York (JFK), Newark (EWR), San Francisco (SFO), Seattle (SEA) and Washington (IAD). More than seventy international airports are also included.

As of March 16, Delta’s trans-Atlantic schedule only sees the airline operating a handful of flights to Amsterdam (AMS), London (LHR) and Paris (CDG) in Europe. In a memo to all Delta employees last week, CEO Ed Bastian said the overall capacity reduction of 40% in the next few months would be the largest in the company’s history. Up to 300 aircraft could be parked.

The airline has already started ferrying widebodies, including A330s, A350s, 767s and 777s, to storage locations such as Birmingham (BHM) and Marana (MZJ).

American Airlines Cargo, which from March 16 to May 6 will only offer belly capacity from DFW and MIA to LHR on the trans-Atlantic lane, told Cargo Facts it is actively working with customers on charter options. We wouldn’t be surprised to see the airline also flying empty passenger aircraft solely to carry cargo.

The trans-Atlantic market is particularly dependent on belly capacity. According to Cargo Facts Consulting, in 2019 only 55% of freight from the U.S. to Western Europe and 40% of freight from Western Europe to the U.S. Freight was carried on freighters. By way of comparison, around 71% of airfreight between the U.S. and Northeast Asia was flown by freighter aircraft.

With the general lack of airfreight capacity due to cancelled passenger flights, several airlines have already begun to operate passenger aircraft as freighters. Cathay Pacific is flying A330-300s operated by regional subsidiary Cathay Dragon, while Singapore Airlines is using 787s operated by low-cost subsidiary Scoot. Korean Air also flew emergency supplies and agricultural products on an A330-300 to Ho Chi Minh City (SGN) last week, and plans to expand the operation to Qingdao (TAO) and other cities. El Al Israel Airlines is reportedly considering offering its 777 and 787 aircraft for cargo use only.

With low fuel prices and large numbers of parked aircraft, we expect to see more airlines operating makeshift “freighters” to make up for lost belly capacity as a way to partially recuperate the losses sustained due to greatly reduced passenger demand and flight cancellations.