Misguided optimism?

The air freight industry is in better shape now than it has been for some time. Demand has been rising steadily, if not spectacularly, for a year, and as we reported last week, yields have finally stopped falling. But whatever good things one can say about the freight business in general, there is no question that the main-deck side of the business remains tough, particularly for small carriers operating big freighters. But that is not deterring at least two new entrants…

US-based Baltia may stretch the definition of “startup,” as it has been talking about starting up for almost twenty-five years, but it now says it hopes to finally take to the air in September, flying its owned 747-200B (21705, ex-Kalitta) between New York and St Petersburg, Russia. As is the case with Viking’s Oslo-Miami route, there is no direct widebody service between New York and St. Petersburg, and Baltia is counting on its ability to speed cargo non-stop between the two cities to attract enough business to be profitable. But the recent examples of carriers like Cargoitalia and Air Cargo Germany show how difficult this is to achieve with a small-scale operation – even with solid financial backing.

The second, Viking International, isn’t strictly all-cargo. It intends to lease one 747-400F and two 747-400 Combis (all reportedly from Air China) and operate them from Oslo to Miami and Bangkok beginning late this year. According to a report in The Loadstar, Viking is said to have the backing of US investors, including former chief pilot of Atlas Air John Kunkel, and Finnish backing in the form of Mika Helenius, the former president and CEO of Air Finland, a leisure carrier that went bankrupt two years ago and is the subject of a criminal investigation, according to Finnish media. Another former pilot, Ragnvald Brobakken, who currently works for Avinor, Norway’s state-owned airport operator, will head the airline.