Carriers must forge partnerships to expand air cargo route networks

Air cargo demand, fuel costs, fleet optimization and evolving political landscapes: All these factors play into an airline’s decision to launch or eliminate routes. To keep up with demand, cargo carriers must explore partnerships and other opportunities to expand their networks.  

Turkish Cargo, for example, signed a memorandum of understanding with Hong Kong Air Cargo in May to explore potential codeshare arrangements, joint freighter aircraft use and expanded connectivity on key international routes. And Emirates in April signed a deal with Teleport that includes access to each other’s freighter capacity. 

In the upcoming webinar from Cargo Facts, “Air cargo route networks: Strategies for improved results and greater efficiencies,” Oguzhan Cerrah, vice president of cargo network planning and development at Turkish Airlines, and Nadeem Sultan, senior vice president of freighters and cargo planning at Emirates SkyCargo, will discuss these partnerships and more on Tuesday, Sept. 16, at 11 a.m. ET.  

Register here for the free webinar. 

This discussion of cargo route development, the considerations that come with it, and the process for implementing new routes and changing existing ones will be moderated by Cargo Facts Deputy Editor Yael Katzwer. 

Topics include:

• Partnerships  
• Flexibility following a crisis  
• Airport infrastructure needs 
• Fleet composition 
• Fuel costs and availability 
• Growing e-commerce markets 
• The changing tariff landscape 

Panelists 

The webinar panelists together bring more than forty years of industry experience to the table. 

Cerrah, who joined Turkish Airlines in 2012, was appointed vice president of cargo network planning and development in August 2024. He served as regional director for South America from 2020 to 2024 and as regional sales manager for the Americas for four years before that.  

Turkish operates eight 777Fs and ten production A330-200Fs. Turkish Airlines will increase its 777F fleet to twelve aircraft after placing an order in 2024 with Boeing for four more of the large-widebody production freighters. The carrier also placed an order with Airbus for five A350Fs in late 2023 as it looks to almost double its freighter fleet to more than forty aircraft by 2033. 

Sultan was promoted to SVP of freighters and cargo planning at Emirates in September 2023. He has served in executive roles with other carriers, including Qatar Airways, Atlas Air and CargoLogicAir, for more than twenty years.  

Emirates continues to evaluate the A350F and 777-8F but placed orders for ten more 777Fs in 2024 to expand its fleet. To further increase its widebody freighter capacity, Emirates in 2024 engaged Compass Air Cargo to fly three 747-400Fs in ACMI service on its behalf.  

Register here for Cargo Facts’ upcoming free webinar, “Air cargo route networks: Strategies for improved results and greater efficiencies,” on Tuesday, Sept. 16, at 11 a.m. ET.

Cargo Facts Symposium, the quintessential event for stakeholders and key leaders in the global freighter and air cargo industries, will take place Oct. 22-24 at the Grand Hyatt in Nashville. Learn more and register today to attend this key industry event.