Nippon Cargo Airlines reorganizes freighter ops

Nippon Cargo Airlines (NCA) announced changes to its winter freighter schedules beginning Oct. 27, and affecting operations in North America, Asia and Europe.

The changes in NCA’s North American operations include an upgauge in some of the carrier’s flights in Los Angeles (LAX). Atlas Air operates for NCA into LAX under CMI agreements using NCA’s 747-400 freighters, but some of those flights will instead be operated by NCA using its own-operated 747-8 freighters. “This replacement will increase capacity to accommodate more freighter-sized cargoes such as longer pieces or over-wide crates,” NCA’s announcement said.

Based on the carrier’s winter schedule, Atlas Air will still operate 747-400Fs two days per week into LAX on NCA’s behalf. Atlas will also operate 747-400Fs for NCA at Chicago O’Hare Airport (ORD), Dallas Fort Worth Airport (DFW), New York (JFK), San Francisco (SFO) and Anchorage Airport (ANC), to and from Tokyo Narita Airport (NRT).

Also, beginning in January, NCA will push back departures from NRT into ORD and arrive earlier from ORD into NRT, to extend delivery time for export cargo and allow for earlier recovery of import cargo at NRT.

Regarding NCA’s Asia operations, the airline is launching a new weekly direct flight from Shanghai Pudong Airport (PVG) to ORD. The carrier added that it will seek to increase the frequency of this route in the future.

Finally, the carrier is also making changes to its European operations. First, NCA is ending its around-the-world service connecting NRT-ANC-ORD-Frankfurt Hahn (HHN)-Milan (MXP)-NRT. NCA will change some of these flights to NRT-ANC-ORD-ANC-NRT, returning the freighter to Tokyo rather than continuing to Europe. The last scheduled ORD-HHN service will operate on Dec. 24 and the last HHN-NRT will operate on Dec. 25.

NCA will still operate four flights weekly between NRT and Europe, on a NRT-Amsterdam (AMS)-MXP-NRT route, and will continue serving HHN via connections at AMS. The carrier added it will also strengthen operations between NRT and MXP “through strategic capacity arrangements with our partner airlines, in addition to our own flights.”