Asia-Pacific capacity constraints drive use of pax freighters

Carriers based in the Asia-Pacific region remain hesitant to turn their backs on cargo-only passenger freighters despite the discontinuation of cabin-loaded cargo flights by carriers in other regions. “Our cargo-only passenger flights are operated based on market conditions and will always be dependent on different market conditions,” George Edmunds, general manager of commercial cargo at Cathay Pacific Cargo, told Air Cargo World .“ [caption id="attachment_96469" align="alignright" width="514"] Photo: Cathay Pacific[/caption] While passenger belly capacity in Asia continues to remain constrained, this will provide opportunities to operate cargo-only passenger flights. As the recovery of passenger flights in Asia continues to be sporadic, there may be an ongoing need for cargo-only passenger flights and cabin load.” The slow-but- steady recovery of cargo traffic in the Asia-Pacific region reversed somewhat in March and April, with members of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) reporting a 3.1% year-over-year decline in April traffic . The contraction was driven by lockdowns in major Chinese cities like Shanghai , and the ongoing Ukraine-Russia war in Ukraine, according to the AAPA. As carriers rerouted flight paths and reduced flight frequencies in order to avoid Russian airspace, April saw trade on Europe-Asia lanes confront capacity shortages . The end of cargo-in-cabin? In North America, meanwhile, Air Canada in May operated its final cabin-loaded cargo flight, with plans to return its passenger aircraft to regular service. Air Canada is now utilizing a fleet of converted 737-600F s and continues to utilize belly space on scheduled passenger flights, according to a May release. During the peak of the pandemic, the carrier was operating 11 reconfigured passenger freighters. “With passenger travel demand recovering and with cargo demand remaining high, Air Canada Cargo will now utilize a fleet of converted 737-600 freighters, two of which are now in service, with six more to come by the end of 2023,” the carrier said in a release. “Additionally, Air Canada Cargo continues to utilize belly space on Air Canada’s globally scheduled passenger flights.” During the pandemic, Air Canada operated more than 16,000 cargo-only passenger freighter flights, an Air Canada spokesperson told Air Cargo World . “While our cabin-loaded aircraft have now all returned to passenger configuration, we do still continue to maintain a small number of scheduled cargo-only flights with passenger aircraft. This is supplemental to our freighter schedule that launched in December of 2021, and is expected to continue through the remainder of 2022.” Other carriers are ambivalent about the continuation of passenger freighter ops. Lufthansa Cargo since winter 2020 has operated more than 100 passenger freighters on behalf of German engineering firm EgeTrans, according to a May 23 release. The cargo, carried mostly aboard A340s and a few A350s, consisted mainly of agricultural machinery, automotive parts and hydraulics equipment and moved between Frankfurt (FRA) and Chicago (ORD). That project has since come to an end, but the carrier still continues to operate passenger freighter flights “as needed,” Katharina Wambach, senior communications manager at Lufthansa Cargo, told Air Cargo World . Meanwhile, Delta Air Lines finds itself in a similar position with the return of passenger traffic demand. “Delta only had a few operations of in-cabin cargo back in 2020 with the 777s. Since then, we have only carried cargo in the belly,” a Delta spokesperson told Air Cargo World . “We do not plan to continue flying cargo-only [belly] flights in the future now that international passenger demand is rebounding.” The return of passenger travel in other regions has encouraged other carriers to leave behind the passenger freighter model. In April, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) deemed COVID-19-related reasons for allowing cargo in non-designated cabin areas “no longer exist to the same extent” as during the height of the pandemic, prompting a call for an end to cargo-in-cabin passenger freighter operations, effective July 31. While cargo still will be permitted to move under seats and in overhead bins, loading cabins with these restrictions is expensive, time-consuming and ultimately inefficient, International Air Cargo Association (IATA) Chief Operational Officer Glyn Hughes said during a recent Aeroclass webinar . The Air Cargo Tech Summit, the new airfreight logistics event presented by Air Cargo World , will take place LIVE in Miami from June 6-7. Learn more and register here.

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