Demand snapshot: September traffic holds steady as yields swell

• Charles Kauffman
• October 19, 2020
• Capacity & Demand, Carriers, Editorial, Logistics, News, Strategy

Fewer carriers are reporting monthly traffic figures on a regular basis this year following monumental dislocations in capacity. Carriers based in the Asia-Pacific region are among the exceptions, and continue to report with a degree of regularity.   While the reduced availability of scheduled lowerhold capacity makes annual comparisons irrelevant for most carriers, many of the region’s carriers continued to report traffic […]

Parked 747 fleet wanes as National brings three out of storage

• Jeff Lee
• September 30, 2020
• Aircraft, Capacity & Demand, Carriers, Conversions, Editorial, Equipment, Logistics, News, Production Freighters, Strategy, Widebody Conversions

Florida-headquartered National Airlines will grow its in-service 747 freighter fleet to five aircraft by the end of November with the reactivation of three -400BCFs. The three ex-Cathay Pacific aircraft, parked in Marana (MZJ) since 2013 and acquired by National in May 2019, were brought out of long-term storage in quick succession and taken to the VT […]

7 airlines with the most cargo-only flights

• Jeff Lee
• September 15, 2020
• Aircraft, Capacity & Demand, Carriers, Conversions, Editorial, Equipment, Logistics, News, Strategy

Faced with shrinking route networks, airlines began using passenger widebody passenger aircraft solely to transport cargo in March. Now, almost six months later, these operations are not only ongoing at many of the world’s major airlines, but represent a financial lifeline against the slow recovery of the passenger market. Tens of thousands of cargo-only flights […]

Top 25 carrier rankings scrambled by fleet changes

• Charles Kauffman and Jeff Lee
• August 12, 2020
• Aircraft, Capacity & Demand, Carriers, Editorial, Equipment, Features, Freighter Fleet Analysis, Logistics, News, Production Freighters, Strategy, Widebody Conversions

While the mix of carriers in the top-five bracket remained the same in 2019, the order in which they are ranked looks very different compared to a year ago, thanks to changes to their freighter fleets.  In our list of Top 25 Carriers by total FTKs, the top five leaders collectively added a net of twenty-three freighters in 2019. The […]

National Airlines awakens 747F from seven-year slumber

• Jeff Lee
• July 28, 2020
• Aircraft, Capacity & Demand, Carriers, Editorial, Equipment, Logistics, News, Strategy, Widebody Conversions

Florida-headquartered National Airlines has brought a 747-400BCF (26547, ex-Cathay Pacific) out of long-term storage at Marana (MZJ) and will soon deploy it into service. The aircraft, which had been parked at MZJ since 2013, was ferried July 27 to San Antonio (SAT) where, according to National, it will undergo heavy maintenance for approximately forty-five days. […]

3 trends in July passenger-freighter operations

• Charles Kauffman and Jeff Lee
• July 23, 2020
• Aircraft, Capacity & Demand, Carriers, Editorial, Equipment, News, Strategy

Some regions continue to see an expansion of cargo-only operations utilizing passenger aircraft, despite falling demand for personal protective equipment (PPE) to combat COVID-19 and the resumption of some international passenger flights. As the capacity and commodity mix evolves, here are three trends Cargo Facts has gleaned from analysis of passenger freighter flights in July: […]

A look at special-edition freighter liveries

• Charles Kauffman and Jeff Lee
• July 14, 2020
• Aircraft, Carriers, Editorial, News, Production Freighters, Strategy

Special liveries, common for passenger aircraft, are few and far between when it comes to freighters, but Cargolux has produced what could be the first retro paint scheme for a cargo aircraft. The 747-400F (35170, ex-CargoLogicAir) returned to Cargolux headquarters in Luxembourg (LUX) on July 14 after spending two weeks in Shannon (SNN), where it […]

In shuttering 747 program, Boeing shuns consortium’s proposal, Cargo Facts learns

• Charles Kauffman and Jeff Lee
• July 6, 2020
• Aircraft, All Posts, Equipment, News, Production Freighters, Widebody Conversions

Not only is Boeing abandoning the 747 platform, continuing its trend in recent years of turning away customers seeking to purchase the iconic widebody, the aerospace giant has also declined an offer to acquire the program, Cargo Facts has learned. Efforts to save the 747-8 have failed, requiring the air cargo industry to face the […]