Revisiting the 747-400 Freighter

In November 2017, air freight traffic was growing 8.0% year-over-year, jet fuel was selling for about $1.75/gallon, Cargolux CEO Richard Forson was telling journalists that he was thinking about expanding his fleet of 23 747 freighters, and Boeing’s production of new 747-8Fs had slowed to a crawl. From where were these additional freighters to come? […]

• Alan Hedge
• August 10, 2018

Rates under pressure as NCA freighter audit continues and trade war looms

Nippon Cargo Airlines’ (NCA) fleet of eleven 747Fs has now been grounded for more than a week as government authorities continue to audit the carrier’s maintenance records. This sudden loss of capacity ex-Asia, combined with a number of shippers rushing to fortify inventories of Chinese goods ahead of new duties scheduled to be imposed as […]

• Caryn Livingston and Charles Kauffman
• June 26, 2018

First Taobao 747F takes off [VIDEO]

The ex-Jade Cargo 747-400ERF (35169) in the video below was purchased late last year by Israel-based CAL Cargo Airlines in a Taobao auction for US$23.3 million. It has been stored at Shenzhen Bao’an Airport (SZS) and was ferried today to Tel Aviv, where it will undergo maintenance at the IAI-Bedek MRO facility. CAL Cargo Airlines […]

• Caryn Livingston
• June 22, 2018

Freighter aircraft transactions through mid-June

Every week in Cargo Facts Update, we include a list of recent freighter aircraft transactions, and then a comprehensive summary in the monthly issue of Cargo Facts. Each reference to a freighter aircraft transaction (FAT) in our publications contains a unique FAT code linked to the FAT database on the CargoFacts.com website. This database is […]

• Caryn Livingston
• June 19, 2018

Cargolux adding three 747-400Fs next year, but where will they come from?

Last week, Cargo Facts sat down with Cargolux President & CEO Richard Forson to discuss what the all-cargo carrier’s fleet might look in the future, when 747Fs are no longer available.  Today, however, 747Fs can still be acquired, and the Luxembourg-based all-cargo airline is planning to add three used 747-400Fs next year. The source of […]

• Charles Kauffman
• May 25, 2018

Cargolux: How an all-747 operator plans for a future without the 747

Shanghai – It’s no secret that Europe’s largest all-cargo carrier, Cargolux is a fan of the 747. The Luxembourg-based carrier took delivery of its first 747-200F in 1979 and has remained an operator of the aircraft ever since; today Cargolux’s fleet is comprised of twenty-seven 747Fs, including fourteen -8Fs. During an interview at Air Cargo […]

• Charles Kauffman
• May 22, 2018

Flexport’s own-operated air freight network grows

In a sign that trans-Pacific air freight capacity remains tight, and rates volatile, yet another forwarder has signed on to dedicated freighter service. Earlier this week, Florida-based Western Global Airlines and US-based digital freight forwarder Flexport inked a three-year deal under which Western Global will operate regular 747-400F flights between Hong Kong (HKG) and Los […]

• Charles Kauffman
• March 9, 2018

The distribution of widebody freighters

Last month, we presented a detailed multi-part analysis of the widebody freighter fleets of airlines worldwide. That analysis (available here) showed that, as of the end of January 2018, seventy-three airlines operated 1,035 widebody jet freighters in commercial service, with 122 more widebody production freighters on order. While the number of freighters increased slightly over […]

• David Harris
• March 5, 2018

Saudia Cargo reactivates four 777Fs

Last week we reported that Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways had parked all five of its A330-200Fs at the end of 2017. At first glance, this did not significantly change the main-deck capacity offered by the Middle East’s four major carriers, because it came just after Saudia reactivated its four owned 777Fs – which had been […]

• David Harris
• January 23, 2018

Driven by e-commerce, 2017’s peak arrived earlier, lasted longer

The growth of e-commerce around peak shopping season is no longer a new story, but 2017’s peak season did raise some eyebrows for getting off to an unusually early start, with sales from 1 November to 22 November up 17.9%, year-over-year in the United States, according to Internet Retailer’s report on the peak shopping season. […]

• Charles Kauffman
• January 2, 2018