Charles Kauffman

LATAM Cargo extends to Asia with reconfigured 777-300ER

• Charles Kauffman
• May 5, 2020
• All Posts, Editorial, Equipment, News, Widebody Conversions

LATAM Cargo is adding long-haul cargo capacity during the COVID-19 crisis and has removed seats from the passenger cabin of a 777-300ER. The aircraft will join the fleet of passenger aircraft being used exclusively for cargo, to supplement passenger flight reductions related to COVID-19 and the resulting decline in belly-hold capacity. According to Cargo Facts’ Passenger-Freighter […]

Demand vs. capacity in the COVID-19 age

• Charles Kauffman
• May 1, 2020
• Aircraft, All Posts, Carriers, Equipment

March 2020 tonnage is significantly lower year over year compared to March 2019, according to reports by multiple sources, including IATA and WorldACD. Amid the coronavirus pandemic that has axed 80% of the world’s passenger flights, however, capacity is the more salient feature of the demand equation. A quick glance at the static March snapshot […]

Airbus SB to detail seat-to-pallet reconfiguration

• Charles Kauffman
• April 30, 2020
• Aircraft, All Posts, Carriers, Conversions, Editorial, Equipment, News, Widebody Conversions

Airbus plans to issue a service bulletin (SB) that outlines the procedure for reconfiguring passenger A330s and A350s to carry cargo on pallets that attach to the seat rails lining the passenger cabins. In parallel, the aerospace giant is working with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to obtain a supplemental type certificate (STC) […]

Cargolux ushers in 50th business year with 2019 net profit

• Charles Kauffman
• April 29, 2020
• All Posts, Carriers, Editorial, Equipment, News, Production Freighters

All-cargo carrier Cargolux reported a net profit of $20.2 million in 2019, on total revenues that were down 14.2% to $2.26 billion. The lower net profit represents a 90% decrease from the previous year’s net income of $211.2 million but is otherwise decent for a year that saw a 3.3% decline in overall cargo traffic, […]

CFC: Freighter fleet on the rise, despite COVID-19

• Charles Kauffman
• April 28, 2020
• Aircraft, All Posts, Cargo Facts Consulting, Conversions, Equipment, Narrowbody Conversions, Production Freighters, Widebody Conversions

Factoring in COVID-19 disruptions, Cargo Facts Consulting (CFC) predicts the world’s jet freighter fleet will grow to 2,971 units by 2039, an increase of nearly 60% from the current fleet size of 1,885 units. Including net fleet growth and retirements, the global freighter fleet will have to add 2,322 jet freighters during the next two […]

Widebody freighter retirement plans stall in March FATs

• Charles Kauffman
• April 27, 2020
• Aircraft, Conversions, Editorial, Equipment, Freighter Aircraft Transactions, Narrowbody Conversions, Widebody Conversions

Large widebody freighter aircraft transactions (FATs) have slowed, dropping to just three in March and down from eight in February, as COVID-19 disruptions drove carriers to reevaluate retirement plans. Although February marked the first month in recent memory during which there was a net reduction to large widebody capacity, that trend reversed in March. ACE […]

Lufthansa Technik to develop STC for ‘auxiliary freighters’

• Charles Kauffman
• April 24, 2020
• Aircraft, Capacity & Demand, Carriers, Conversions, Editorial, Equipment, News, Strategy, Widebody Conversions

Lufthansa Technik is developing passenger-to-cargo conversion programs that temporarily reconfigure passenger aircraft as “auxiliary freighters” capable of transporting cargo on the passenger deck. The MRO has already converted four A330-300s for its carrier affiliate Lufthansa, and the modification was subsequently approved by the German Federal Aviation Authority. While the first four aircraft will be permitted […]

CFA 2020: COVID-19 forces supply chains to reassess freighter value

• Charles Kauffman
• April 23, 2020
• Aircraft, All Posts, Cargo Facts Asia, Carriers, Editorial, Equipment, Events, Exclusive, News, Production Freighters, Strategy

The COVID-19 pandemic will permanently alter the way carriers treat cargo, and the reliance of supply chains on freighter capacity, according to speakers at this week’s Cargo Facts Asia 2020. Although the cavernous lower holds of passenger aircraft are normally efficient for transporting much of the world’s cargo, this crisis reveals that capacity is only available when […]