Cargo airlines (or air freight carriers , and derivatives of these names) are airlines mainly dedicated to the transport of cargo by air . Some cargo airlines are divisions or subsidiaries of larger passenger airlines . In 2018, airline cargo traffic represented 262,333 million tonne-kilometres with a 49.3% load factor : 52.1% for dedicated cargo operations, and 47.9% within mixed operations (belly freight of passenger airliners).
23-413: ASL Airlines Belgium , (ASLB) formerly TNT Airways , is a Belgian cargo airline operating chartered flights mainly to European destinations. It has its head office and hub on the grounds of Liège Airport . The airline was originally a subsidiary of TNT Express but was acquired by ASL Aviation Holdings DAC and rebranded in 2016. ASL Aviation Holdings DAC , the parent company of ASL Airlines Belgium,
46-517: A dedicated freighter aircraft. The narrow doors and unreinforced floors in most passenger cabins cannot accommodate palletized cargo and large containers that can be rapidly loaded on freighters with large cargo doors and reinforced floors. As there is no dedicated system for loading a preighter, most of the process must be completed manually by airline or airport staff, increasing costs and placing preighters at an economic disadvantage to freighters, particularly when cargo rates are low. In some cases,
69-422: A reinforced floor to accommodate oversize or heavy items, but has removable seats or is partitioned into passenger and freight areas. Prior to the precipitous drop in air travel caused by the outbreak of COVID-19 , cargo capacity in the belly hold of passenger aircraft accounted for half of global air freight , rising as high as 80% on transatlantic routes. With the cancellation of many passenger flights and
92-488: Is an aircraft originally intended to carry passengers but which is operated temporarily as a cargo aircraft by loading freight in the passenger cabin . The term is a portmanteau of "passenger" and "freighter" and is attributed to Lufthansa chief executive Carsten Spohr ; it came to use as commercial airlines responded to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic . A preighter is distinct from a combi aircraft , which has cargo aircraft features such as large outward-opening doors and
115-603: Is headquartered in Swords , County Dublin , Ireland. ASLB operates worldwide Boeing 737 freighter services under the ASL Aviation Holdings brand and for major express integrator and e-commerce customers including FedEx and Alibaba . In addition to its own fleet, the airline also manages various third-party airlines providing aircraft for FedEx's European network. TNT Express was established in Australia in
138-529: The COVID-19 pandemic , adjusted cargo capacity fell by 4.4% in February while air cargo demand also fell by 9.1%, but the near-halt in passenger traffic cut capacity even deeper as half of global air cargo is carried in passenger jets’ bellies. Air freight rates rose as a consequence, from $ 0.80 per kg for transatlantic cargoes to $ 2.50-4 per kg, enticing passenger airlines to operate cargo-only flights through
161-559: The Ilyushin Il-76 . Examples of the 80+-year-old Douglas DC-3 are still flying around the world carrying cargo (as well as passengers). Short range turboprop airliners such as the Antonov An-12 , Antonov An-26 , Fokker Friendship , and British Aerospace ATP are being modified to accept standard air freight pallets to extend their working lives. This normally involves the replacement of glazed windows with opaque panels,
184-690: The 1940s, by Ken Thomas. The company expanded from a single truck to road and rail freight services across Australia including, for the first time, new overnight services. In 1958, the company became known as Thomas Nationwide Transport or TNT for short and, by 1961, TNT had become so successful that it was listed on the Australian stock exchange. The company was founded in 1999 as TNT Airways in Belgium. Air cargo operations began in Belgium and operated from Liège Airport . TNT Airways started to work with BAe 146-300 and Airbus A300. This transformation brought
207-588: The ASL Airlines Belgium fleet consists of the following registered aircraft: In June 2021, ASL Aviation Holdings announced it had ordered up to 20 737-800 Boeing Converted Freighter (BCF) aircraft - 10 firm orders and 10 options at the Paris Air Show . This was extended to an additional 20 737-800 Boeing Converted Freighters (BCF) in March 2022. ASL's order, including options brings
230-829: The Amsterdam Stock Exchange. In May 2016, ASL Aviation Holdings acquires TNT Airways which joins the ASL portfolio of 9 other airlines in Europe, South Africa and Asia. Rebranded as ASL Airlines Belgium, the Airline signs a multi-year service agreement with the new Fedex/TNT combination. As of November 2021, ASL Airlines Belgium serves six scheduled destinations in North America and China under its own brand name with several dozen more operated as contracted charters, e. g. on behalf of DHL . As of October 2023,
253-431: The cabin seating. Cargo can also be stored securely between seats, in luggage bins or strapped down if seats are partially or completely removed. Limitations on where and how cargo may be safely transported in a passenger cabin may vary by the type of cargo. Carrying cargo by methods not originally designed, especially when it involves reconfiguring an aircraft, requires approval of the appropriate regulatory bodies for
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#1732783433157276-791: The company to an extension from a European to a Worldwide coverage. The Group introduced their first Boeing 737-300 in 2003. In May 2004, TNT Post Group (TPG) announced major expansion of the TNT Express European air hub in Liège, Belgium. To consolidate and improve recognition of the TNT brand, the name 'TPG' was dropped in favor of 'TNT' in 2005. The split-up of TNT N.V. which was announced in December 2010, materialized in May 2011 when TNT Express and TNT Post (now: PostNL) were separately listed on
299-471: The corresponding loss of capacity in holds, existing dedicated freighter aircraft were insufficient to meet demand, and the price for air cargo increased. Although passenger aircraft can be converted into dedicated cargo aircraft, this process may take years, whereas jets carrying cargo in the passenger cabin can be deployed much faster. With a loss of freight capacity and the urgent need to distribute massive amounts of personal protective equipment around
322-505: The geographical repositioning of raw materials, work in process, and finished inventories. Larger cargo airlines tend to use new or recently built aircraft to carry their freight. Current passenger aircraft such as the Boeing 777 and Airbus A330 offer freighter variants either from new the factory or as a conversion. Compared to the passenger variant, the freighter has a supernumerary area, which includes four business-class seats forward of
345-627: The number of 737-800BCF to 40 aircraft. Eleven aircraft operate for ASL Airlines Belgium, ASL Airlines France , ASL Airlines Ireland and ASL's joint venture airline, K-Mile Asia . Cargo airline A higher proportion of cargo flights are red-eye (overnight flights) than passenger flights. Compared to passenger airline pilots, cargo pilots are paid less but do not have to be responsible for passengers. Cargo pilots also have better job security due to air freight demand being more stable, as opposed to passenger airlines which often furlough their pilots in response to falling passenger demand. [1] Amid
368-1098: The passenger cabin. [2] This is known as mixed operations or belly freight, and makes up 47.9% airline cargo traffic as of 2018. Alaska Airlines operates a series of short flights nicknamed the "Milk Run" to small towns in Southeast Alaska that do not have road access, using five Boeing 737-400 Combi aircraft whose cabin is divided in half with cargo up front and 72 seats in the back. [3] By freight tonne-kilometres flown (millions): Some more large cargo carriers are: The following are freight divisions of passenger airlines operating their own or leased freighter aircraft. Some have shut down or merged with others: The following are freight divisions without freighter fleets, using passenger aircraft holds or having other cargo airlines fly on their behalf. Some of these previously had freighters: These carriers operate freighter aircraft but do not have cargo divisions: These carriers operate freighter aircraft exclusively Preighter A preighter , also known as cargo in cabin ,
391-421: The past, some cargo airlines would carry a few passengers from time to time on flights, and UPS Airlines once unsuccessfully tried a passenger charter airline division. Passenger airlines regularly use their largest passenger aircraft like the Boeing 777 -300ER to earn additional revenue beyond passengers on a scheduled flight, by transporting a limited amount of cargo alongside passengers' luggage underneath
414-435: The regions where the aircraft operates. The International Air Transport Association further advises that a comprehensive safety assessment be completed in all cases. In 2021, European regulators set a limit on total flight hours for preighters out of concern that carriers might underestimate possible increased fire risks. Loading and unloading a preighter aircraft often requires more time and work by airline staff than would
437-469: The rigid cargo barrier, full main deck access, bunks, and a galley. Passenger planes converted to freighters have their windows plugged, passenger doors deactivated, fuselage and floor reinforced, and a main-deck cargo door installed. Many cargo airlines still utilize older aircraft, including those no longer suited for passenger service, like the Boeing 707 , Boeing 727 , Douglas DC-8 , McDonnell Douglas DC-10 , McDonnell Douglas MD-11 , Airbus A300 , and
460-414: The same year, coinciding with the lifting of the travel restrictions, many preighters are getting reverted back to its passenger configuration. Preighters can be operated either by temporarily removing seats or, in some cases, packing cargo onto existing seats. During the disruption of COVID-19, at least 200 passenger aircraft around the world were modified to serve as preighters by removing most or all of
483-543: The strengthening of the cabin floor and insertion of a broad top-hinged door in one side of the fuselage. The Antonov An-225 Mriya , an enlarged version of the Antonov An-124 Ruslan , was the world's largest aircraft, used for transporting large shipments and oversized cargos. Usage of large military airplanes for commercial purposes, pioneered by Ukraine 's Antonov Airlines in the 1990s, has allowed new types of cargo in aerial transportation. In
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#1732783433157506-400: The use of preighters , while cargo airlines bring back into service fuel-guzzling stored aircraft , helped by falling oil prices . Air transport is a component of many international logistics networks, managing and controlling the flow of goods, energy, information and other resources like products, services, and people, from the source of production to the marketplace. Logistics involves
529-492: The world in the fight against COVID-19, hundreds of unused passenger aircraft were temporarily employed in a freighter role. Such aircraft have also helped deliver mail, medical supplies, tools and other cargo. In 2022, a temporary European Union Aviation Safety Agency rule facilitating the loading of cargo on passenger decks was allowed to expire, and declining air cargo rates rendered preighter operations increasingly uneconomical due to their inherent loading difficulties. On
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