Return to the skies of passengers doesn’t spell the end of passenger freighters

[caption id="attachment_414086" align="alignright" width="460"] Air Belgium is one of just three carriers to have removed seats from an A340-300. (Photo: Air Belgium)[/caption] Even as passengers return to the skies, passenger freighters aren’t immediately headed for their demise. The uptick in passenger flights recorded from mid-June onward has not led to an immediate end to the use of passenger aircraft for cargo-only service. Although some aircraft have traded out cargo for passengers — or at least a mix of the two — many routes and trade lanes are still severely lacking in capacity. The types of aircraft operating as passenger freighters in cargo-only service, and the networks in which they operate, remain fluid as airfreight continues to connect supply chains in the regions hit hardest by the pandemic. Almost three months since Cargo Facts began collecting data on the use of passenger aircraft for cargo-only operations during the pandemic , the total number stands at more than 2,310. The table below lists the most commonly used models recorded by Cargo Facts , regardless of cabin configuration. Most commonly used passenger aircraft types utilized for cargo-only flights Included here are any aircraft used at least once. The numbers are therefore simply totals and not necessarily indicative of the number of cargo-only aircraft in use at any given time. The four most commonly used types for cargo-only flights are: 777-300ER, 787-9, A330-300 and A350-900, with the 777-300ER leading the pack by far, at 618. Of the hundreds of carriers that have operated cargo-only flights, forty-five have reconfigured around 140 aircraft in some way by removing seats: Aerolineas Argentinas Air Algerie Air Astana Air Belgium Air Canada Air China Air France Austrian Airlines Azul Linhas Aereas Azur Air Blue Air British Airways China Eastern Airlines China Southern Airlines Condor El Al Ethiopian Airlines EuroAtlantic Airways EVA Air Fiji Airways Finnair Hainan Airlines Hi Fly Icelandair Kam Air Kunming Airlines LATAM Lufthansa Maleth-Aero MIAT Mongolian Airlines Pegas Fly Shandong Airlines Sichuan Airlines SkyUp Airlines SmartLynx Airlines SpiceJet Swiss TAP Air Portugal Terra Avia Uzbekistan Airways Vietnam Airlines Voepass Linhas Aereas Wamos Air Xiamen Airlines Passenger aircraft types reconfigured for cargo-only flights The top four types that have been reconfigured are: 767-300ER, 737-800, A330-300 and A330-200. The leading airframe types for reconfigured aircraft do not align with the popular types for cargo-only missions. Whereas large widebody aircraft represent the overwhelming majority of passenger freighters without modifications, medium-widebody aircraft — and even narrowbodies — have trended heavily for reconfigured types. It is important to note that even though many aircraft previously utilized as passenger freighters have resumed carrying passengers, even some of the types modified by seat removal have been returned to passenger configuration. Four of ten Lufthansa A330-300s that had seats removed have not operated at all since the end of May, according to FlightRadar24, while seats were restored to the remaining six , which returned to passenger service in June. Flight-tracking radar for reconfigured freighters suggests that most of the aircraft in service continue to carry commodities directly related to the pandemic. Take TAP Air Portugal’s two modified A330-900s, for example. In May and into early June, the aircraft were used exclusively for flights between Portugal and China to accommodate exports of personal protective equipment (PPE) and medical supplies out of China. Last week, the carrier began funneling relief to hard-hit cities in Brazil, with flights between Porto (OPO) and Fortaleza (FOR). Although we expect passenger-freighter activity to continue to slow, regardless of cabin configuration, we note some carriers have only recently completed modifications for cargo; EVA Air recently began flying its first reconfigured 777-300ER (33757), while Canadian leisure airline Air Transat will soon start flying two reconfigured A330-200s on an ACMI basis for GTA Air Cargo. Cargo Facts understands at least one or two other carriers not yet on our list have very recently removed seats from their aircraft.

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