April brings more instability to Asia-Pacific cargo traffic

• Caryn Livingston
• May 18, 2020
• Capacity & Demand

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has managed to destabilize most of the global aviation market, even as disrupted supply chains have boosted airfreight rates to unprecedented highs. While in some cases that has led to startling increases in air cargo revenue in April and during the first quarter of 2020, the massive decrease in cargo capacity […]

130+ passenger aircraft added to ‘COVID-19 freighter fleet’

• Charles Kauffman and Jeff Lee
• March 31, 2020
• Aircraft, Capacity & Demand, Carriers, Equipment, Exclusive, Freighter Fleet Analysis, Logistics, News, Strategy

As borders are severely restricted and passenger flights are cancelled around the world because of the COVID-19 pandemic, at least forty airlines have operated some 135 empty passenger aircraft for the sole purpose of carrying cargo, analysis by Cargo Facts has found. With bellyholds traditionally moving 40%-80% of the cargo on a given lane, the […]

Air Hong Kong adds second own-operated A330F

• Jeff Lee
• March 30, 2020
• Aircraft, Carriers, Conversions, Editorial, Equipment, Express, Logistics, News, Production Freighters, Strategy, Widebody Conversions

Air Hong Kong (AHK) has transferred a second A330F to its own air operator’s certificate (AOC). While the first was a freighter-converted A330-300F (116, ex-Malaysia Airlines), the latest is a production A330-200F (1414, ex-ASL Airlines Ireland). Unit 1414 is one of five production A330-200Fs DHL Express acquired from Abu Dhabi-based Etihad in 2018. It was handed over […]

Coronavirus pressures Boeing to idle operations, cure cash bleed

• Charles Kauffman and Jeff Lee
• March 20, 2020
• Aircraft, Editorial, Equipment, News, Production Freighters

Boeing is under mounting pressure from the coronavirus outbreak to stop work at its final-assembly facilities, at least on a temporary basis. With at least three large widebody freighters on the flight line at Boeing’s Everett final assembly facility, deliveries planned in the coming weeks could be delayed. These include a China Southern Cargo 777F […]

Qantas, KLM fly passenger aircraft as freighters, Lufthansa and IAG may follow

• Jeff Lee
• March 18, 2020
• Aircraft, Capacity & Demand, Carriers, Equipment, News, Production Freighters, Strategy, Widebody Conversions

[Note: Qantas has now decided to suspend all international passenger flying from the end of March until at least May 31, 2020.] As borders are severely restricted and passenger flights are cancelled around the world because of the COVID-19 pandemic, more airlines are beginning to operate empty passenger aircraft for the sole purpose of carrying […]

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, […]

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. […]

Cathay operates passenger aircraft as freighters to replace lost bellyhold capacity

• Charles Kauffman and Jeff Lee
• March 9, 2020
• Aircraft, News, Strategy

In recent weeks, Cathay Pacific and regional subsidiary Cathay Dragon have made significant reductions to their respective intra-Asia passenger flight schedules, leading to a precipitous drop in bellyhold capacity. Air cargo demand remains robust to the extent that Cathay has begun to repurpose some of its many idled aircraft by flying them as freighters. Cathay […]