Cargo Facts
SUBSCRIBE
  • NEWS
  • DATA
  • MULTIMEDIA
  • MAGAZINE
    • Issue Archive
    • Weekly Update
  • EVENTS
  • CONSULTING
Wednesday, January 20, 2021
Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Aircraft Leasing
  • Capacity & Demand
  • Carriers
  • E-Commerce
  • Engines
  • Express
  • Freighter Aircraft
  • Freighter Conversions
Cargo Facts
  • NEWS
  • DATA
  • MULTIMEDIA
  • MAGAZINE
    • Issue Archive
    • Weekly Update
  • EVENTS
  • CONSULTING
Log In
No Result
View All Result
Cargo Facts
No Result
View All Result

Combination Carrier

David Harris by David Harris
July 12, 2012
in News Archives
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedIn

Alaska 737-400 Combi

Once a fairly regular sight, combi and quick-change aircraft operated by major passenger carriers are now exceedingly rare, with only three airlines – KLM, Air China (both with 747-400M’s), and Alaska still operating any sizeable number in scheduled passenger-freight services. Air China will begin phasing out the 747-400M later this year, leaving only KLM and Alaska in the scheduled service combi business. A few other carriers possess aircraft built as combis, but no longer use them for scheduled mixed services.

Alaska’s 737-400 combis were converted by PEMCO to replace factory-built 737-200QC’s in the mid-2000’s. The Seattle-based Airline has flown combi services to small, isolated communities in Alaska since the 1970s (first using 727-100s), and the combis typically operate “milk run” types of routes. A typical flight might take the combi from Anchorage to Seattle by way of Juneau, Petersburg (pop. 3000), Wrangell (pop. 2,300), and Ketchikan (pop. 8000). These unique machines also service the oil industry on the north slope, and can be seen regularly at Barrow and Prudhoe Bay/Deadhorse.

Unlike the earlier 727 and 737-200QC’s, the 737-400 combis cannot be reconfigured. Regulations put in place after the 1987 crash of South African Airlines Flight 295, a 747-200 Combi, dictate a fixed barrier between passengers and cargo, among other things. Passengers board through the rear door by a stair on the tarmac while cargo is loaded through the conventional cargo door. Unlike the other aircraft in Alaska’s fleet (which have a first class section), the combis have only one class seating for 72 passengers. Up front, there’s room for four LD7s, which at some small airports are loaded by forklift rather than a conventional loader.

Alaska’s Cargo-door equipped fleet is comprised of six 737-400s, five combis and one main-deck freighter.

In earlier times, the 727 and 737-200 were useful for unpaved airports in the far north, but all of Alaska’s destinations are now paved. In Canada, Air North, Air Inuit, and First air are still using gravel-kit equipped 737-200s for some destinations that require services similar to Alaska’s. Like Alaska Airlines, operators of the 737-200 have been looking more closely at or actively acquiring 737 classics as replacements for these older aircraft.

©Photographer: Alex Kwanten

Tags: 737-400Alaska Air CargocombiPEMCOVideo
Previous Post

Big Fish

Next Post

Chapman Freeborn makes the Sunday Times HSBC International Track 200

Related Posts

Pivot to cargo insulates Taiwan's combination carriers
Capacity & Demand

Pivot to cargo insulates Taiwan’s combination carriers

January 19, 2021
Decline in options curbs 2020 freighter orders
Freighter Aircraft

Decline in options curbs 2020 freighter orders

January 13, 2021
FedEx acquires 777F from Etihad
Carriers

FedEx acquires 777F from Etihad

January 8, 2021
Next Post

Chapman Freeborn makes the Sunday Times HSBC International Track 200

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.

Get Latest Issue

CARGO FACTS CONSULTING

DHL vaccines

COVID-19 vaccine traffic to be ‘blip on the radar’

December 18, 2020
China-Europe rail freight surges

China-Europe rail freight surges

October 9, 2020
  • About Us
  • Help Center
  • Privacy Terms
  • ADA Compliance
  • Advertise

Follow Us

twitter twitter linkedin podcast

© 2021 Royal Media & Cargo Facts

No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • All News
    • Aircraft Leasing
    • Capacity & Demand
    • Carriers
    • E-Commerce
    • Engines
    • Express
    • Freighter Aircraft
    • Freighter Conversions
  • Data
  • Multimedia
  • Magazine
    • Issues Archive
    • Weekly Update
  • Events
  • Consulting
  • Subscribe
  • Log In / Account

© 2021 Royal Media & Cargo Facts

Go to mobile version