AA continues growing cargo-only network

[caption id="attachment_88629" align="alignright" width="460"] AA’s cargo-only flights to China are operated with 787-9s. (Photo: American Airlines)[/caption] Even as American Airlines gradually restores its international passenger network, it will expand its cargo-only flying in September to consist of more than 1,000 flights covering around thirty destinations, more than double August’s schedule. The airline’s latest cargo-only schedule includes flights from AA’s hubs in Charlotte (CLT), Chicago (ORD), Dallas (DFW), Los Angeles (LAX), Miami (MIA), New York (JFK) and Philadelphia (PHL), all of which are operated with 777s or 787s. AA told Air Cargo World the significant expansion is driven by continued high demand for cargo capacity. “In a number of instances, these cargo-only routes also help us start to roll out passenger services in a way that makes sense economically,” said Roger Samways, vice president of commercial at American Airlines Cargo. “Once our cargo-only flight has been established, we have been able to utilize these flights to restart passenger service.” See also: Cargo shoulders the weight of transatlantic route recovery for BA, AA Notable additions from August include a daily 777-200ER flying between CLT and Munich (MUC) — both automotive manufacturing centers — and a three-times-weekly 787-8 between PHL and Dublin (DUB). The latter two regions count biotech and pharmaceuticals among their major industries. AA has also boosted frequencies from its hubs to London (LHR) and Paris (CDG). “We still carry a mix of medical supplies and the typical cargo we were carrying before the pandemic, such as perishables, e-commerce and mail, automotive parts and electronics, just to name a few,” Samways said. “While volumes of PPE and medical supplies of that sort have decreased from when we initially launched our cargo-only service in March, we continue to see medical supplies and pharmaceuticals throughout as part of our freight.” AA began its cargo-only operations with a 777-300ER from DFW to Frankfurt (FRA) and to Hong Kong (HKG) soon after that. Beijing (PEK) and Shanghai (PVG) continue to feature heavily in the cargo-only schedule, operated via Seoul (ICN). In July, AA suspended its nonstop HKG flights due to more stringent entry restrictions for crew, but Samways confirmed that cargo-only flights to the world’s busiest cargo airport will recommence Aug. 23, with an LAX-Tokyo (NRT)-HKG-NRT-LAX routing. Prior to the pandemic, the airline hadn’t flown scheduled cargo-only services since it retired its last 747-100 freighter in 1984. Although the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recently gave preliminary approval for the reconfiguration of passenger cabins by removing seats, Samways said AA will continue to fly cargo in the belly only and currently has no plans to carry cargo in the cabin. AA isn’t the only North American carrier to operate large numbers of cargo-only flights. United Airlines is similarly offering a significant cargo-only schedule to Asia, Europe and Latin America, all operated by 777s and 787s. Although the number of routes appears slightly lower than a month ago, some existing routes are seeing higher frequencies. Air Canada, which reconfigured four 777-300ERs and three A330-300s , also continues to ramp up its cargo operations and now operates around twenty cargo-only routes, most recently adding Latin American connections like Toronto (YYZ)-Sao Paulo (GRU) and Montreal (YUL)-Havana (HAV)-Bogota (BOG). The carrier’s cargo revenue grew by 52% year over year in the second quarter, exceeding passenger revenue for the first time ever.

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