AA accelerates fleet retirements, frees up feedstock

• Jeff Lee
• March 17, 2020
• Aircraft, Capacity & Demand, Carriers, Conversions, Engines, Equipment, Narrowbody Conversions, News, Strategy

American Airlines’ plans to accelerate the retirement of its older aircraft in light of the sharp drop in passenger traffic due to the COVID-19 pandemic will result in a feedstock situation that could be attractive for those looking to add 757 freighters. Apart from cutting much of its international traffic, Doug Parker, CEO of American […]

What’s ahead for European air trade?

• Frederic Horst
• March 17, 2020
• All Posts, Editorial, Equipment, News

After two strong years, EU-28 air freight export and import tonnage declined in 2019, pushing the average five-year compound annual growth rate down to 2%. Airfreight imports and exports are only 11% higher today than they were in 2014. Figure 1 provides an overview of combined air freight imports and exports into and from all […]

Delta to operate passenger planes as freighters for charters

• Jeff Lee
• March 16, 2020
• Aircraft, Capacity & Demand, Carriers, News, Strategy

Delta Air Lines will join the list of airlines operating passenger aircraft as freighters. The carrier’s entire trans-Atlantic belly network has been nearly eliminated as a result of the U.S. travel ban on foreign nationals from the Schengen Area, the U.K. and Ireland. Delta Cargo has begun offering charter flights in response to customer demand, […]

Amerijet secures 767 ETOPs, targets trans-Atlantic lane

• Charles Kauffman
• March 16, 2020
• Aircraft, All Posts, Editorial, Equipment, News, Widebody Conversions

On March 12, U.S.-based Amerijet International secured extended-range twin-engine operations, or ETOPS, approval that increases the maximum diversion time for its 767F fleet to 180 minutes. The FAA rating defines how much flying time an aircraft can be from an alternate airport and, in Amerijet’s case, will enable fewer stopovers and more direct flight paths […]

As main-deck demand surges, 747Fs remain in storage

• Jeff Lee
• March 13, 2020
• Aircraft, Capacity & Demand, Carriers, Editorial, Equipment, News, Production Freighters, Strategy, Widebody Conversions

While the passenger airline business suffers from capacity cuts on an unprecedented scale due to the coronavirus pandemic, freighter operators are experiencing a surge in demand and charter activity as less and less belly capacity becomes available. However, no parked freighters appear to have been removed from storage and brought back into service so far. […]

Coronavirus snarls freighter redeliveries out of China

• Charles Kauffman and Jeff Lee
• March 13, 2020
• Aircraft, All Posts, Conversions, Equipment, Narrowbody Conversions, News

Redeliveries of some freighter conversions being carried out at MROs in China will encounter disruptions and delays until travel restrictions are lifted. Even as MRO workers return from a Lunar New Year holiday that was prolonged by quarantine measures undertaken to combat the novel coronavirus outbreak, many key stakeholders in the process remain stuck outside […]

2020 may be the year of the freighter

• Frederic Horst
• March 12, 2020
• Aircraft, Capacity & Demand, Carriers, News

2020 is turning out to be the year of the freighter. Following the U.S. announcement of a ban on travelers from 26 Schengen countries starting March 13, carriers are likely to make substantial cuts to trans-Atlantic passenger capacity.

EFW begins converting young A330 for DHL

• Jeff Lee
• March 12, 2020
• Aircraft, Carriers, Conversions, Equipment, Freighter Aircraft Transactions, News, Strategy, Widebody Conversions

The youngest A330 to be sent for conversion arrived at the Elbe Flugzeugwerke (EFW) facility in Dresden (DRS) on March 10. The A330-300 (1124) previously in service with Hong Kong Airlines, is just under ten years old. EFW confirmed to Cargo Facts the aircraft has been inducted for conversion into freighter configuration [FAT 005354], and […]