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

• Charles Kauffman and Jeff Lee
• June 22, 2020
• Aircraft, Capacity & Demand, Carriers, Conversions, Editorial, Equipment, Freighter Fleet Analysis, Logistics, Narrowbody Fleet Analysis, News, Strategy, Widebody Fleet Analysis

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 […]

CFC: Freighter utilization eases off May highs

• Frederic Horst
• June 18, 2020
• Aircraft, All Posts, Cargo Facts Consulting, Carriers, Equipment, Freighter Fleet Analysis, Logistics, News

The massive drop in scheduled passenger belly capacity implemented in March and April has been a boom for freighter operators. Coupled with a surge of PPE -related shipments out of China, rates climbed to more than twice normal levels in April, even though overall airfreight volumes have declined between 20% and 30% in key markets. […]

Volga-Dnepr and Boeing in legal spat over order backlog

• Charles Kauffman and Jeff Lee
• June 1, 2020
• Aircraft, All Posts, Business, Carriers, Equipment, Freighter Fleet Analysis, News, Production Freighters, Strategy, Widebody Fleet Analysis

Volga-Dnepr Group, through its U.K. affiliate, is motioning for a temporary restraining order against Boeing in an attempt to reclaim delivery rights to a 747-8F and three 777Fs Boeing began remarketing earlier this year, after the group signaled earlier this year that it was no longer in a position to take delivery of the aircraft. […]

Cargo Facts Connect: Carriers add capacity with passenger-freighter reconfigurations

• Charles Kauffman and Jeff Lee
• May 15, 2020
• Aircraft, All Posts, Business, Capacity & Demand, Carriers, Conversions, Editorial, Equipment, Freighter Aircraft Transactions, Freighter Fleet Analysis, Narrowbody Conversions, News, Podcast, Production Freighters, Video

At least twenty-two carriers have reconfigured close to seventy passenger aircraft, and Cargo Facts this week released an update to its new Passenger-Freighter Database that illustrates the degree to which passenger aircraft have been modified to boost capacity to carry cargo . In the video below, Cargo Facts editors Charles Kauffman and Jeff Lee discuss […]

Pax freighters: There go the seats

• Charles Kauffman and Jeff Lee
• May 14, 2020
• Aircraft, Carriers, Editorial, Equipment, Freighter Fleet Analysis, Logistics, News

Air cargo capacity was first to go, and seats are now following. At least twenty-two carriers have now removed seats on at least sixty-six passenger aircraft in order to create additional space for cargo carriage. As of May 14, Cargo Facts has recorded more than 1,300 passenger aircraft that have been operated in cargo-only service, […]

747-400 most sought-after freighter in April FATs

• Charles Kauffman
• May 11, 2020
• Aircraft, All Posts, Conversions, Editorial, Equipment, Freighter Aircraft Transactions, Widebody Conversions, Widebody Fleet Analysis

Large widebody freighter aircraft transactions (FATs) have accelerated to eight, up from just three in March as COVID-19 disruptions pushed previously-idled 747-400 and similarly-sized freighters back into service. A total of three 747-400Fs were acquired during the month of April as Western Global Airlines added a production 747-400F (29258, ex-Atlas Air) and as Moldova-based Aerotranscargo […]

777-300ER dominates passenger-freighter fleet

• Charles Kauffman
• May 8, 2020
• Aircraft, All Posts, Capacity & Demand, Carriers, Editorial, Equipment, Freighter Fleet Analysis, News, Widebody Conversions, Widebody Fleet Analysis

The number of passenger aircraft that have been used as freighters on cargo-only flights and recorded by Cargo Facts in our recently launched passenger-freighter database has now surpassed 1,000. While the type of operation varies widely, from one-off charters to regularly scheduled networks, the sheer scale of the utilization is unprecedented, much like the impact […]

Narrowbody fleet shaped by feedstock and FAA constraints

• Charles Kauffman and Jeff Lee
• April 14, 2020
• Aircraft, Carriers, Conversions, Equipment, Express, Features, Narrowbody Conversions, Narrowbody Fleet Analysis, Strategy

The year since we last tallied the narrowbody fleet has been full of unexpected twists and turns that have affected both certification timelines for new programs and feedstock availability. A U.S. government shutdown that began Dec. 22, 2018 and spanned thirty-five days left the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) without the resources to expeditiously certify new […]