The World Of Cargo Operations

In this thread we will look at cargo operations across the spectrum of aviation. Relevant news, videos, photos etc can be placed in this thread. Firstly, what is it like to fly on a Boeing 747 freighter? Sam Chui flies with a Qatar Airways Boeing 747-8F to show you the behind-the-scenes.

This would be an important link when dealing with Cargo Ops at international airports.

https://tiaca.org/clusters/airports/

Sam Chui looks inside of the Boeing DreamLifter which is a heavily modified Boeing 747 which carries Boeing 787 DreamLiner parts to the finishing factories.

Technology is moving along in the cargo aviation sector. This is a side of the industry that does not get looked at too often but is a major way in how we receive our goods from around the world. Wooden airfreight pallets are the normal way of doing things but a new tech using a sustainable and eco-friendlier solution has come to the fore to help spread the weight of the cargo on those wooden pallets. Trilatec and Jettainer have teamed up to produce a weight distribution system that is made from cardboard fiber. The trilatec squAIR-timber system is what it is called and they are hoping to have this replace the wooden planks often used. squAIR-'timber' is made with 100-percent recycled material. You can also dispose of it with paper waste.

The first single-aisle Passenger to Freighter A321 conversion and flight test is well underway and the first one is expected to be delivered by July. The first aircraft is a well-worked aircraft in the commercial field that is around 22 years old. (MSN835) is an A321 that is run by International Aero Engines IAE V2500 power plants. A321P2F launch customer is a lessor called Vallair. They will in turn lease the aircraft to Qantas which will make it the first A321P2F to go into service.

Atlas Air looks like they took a bit of a hit in 2019 recording just under 300 million in loss. The company hopes to make a better financial performance in 2020.
“Looking ahead, we anticipate that our financial performance in 2020 will be an improvement over 2019,” says chief executive John Dietrich. “Our focus remains on express, e-commerce, the US military and faster-growing markets, where the demand for our aircraft and services is solid. As the global supply chain rebalances, we will continue to leverage our significant commercial charter business to capitalize on customer demand,” he continued.

Cargo Logic Air (CLA) is heading in the direction of Liquidation. The company has been fighting a loosing battle against tough market conditions. In late 2019 the airline slashed its fleet of a couple Boeing 747 freighters to just two. As of 24th of February their flights ceased and many staff were sent packing.

A major part of that process is securing EASA certification and that has happened. Approval of the supplementary type certificate by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency follows the maiden flight of the initial converted aircraft on 22nd of January. The aircraft is set to be delivered to Vallair as suggested in an earlier post.

Cargo work still goes on despite the covid-19 situation and we have seen many examples of airlines taking their passenger planes and removing the seats in order to carry critical supplies and covid-related cargo in the cabin. Lufthansa Technik is now offering a P2C conversion for Airbus A380s as a temporary option for those airlines who want to utilize their A388s for cargo use in the interim. Maintenance senior director Henning Jochmann says the change involves "much more than just taking out seats", as a result of the different load and safety considerations involved in placing freight in the passenger cabin.

Flying critical cargo on National's freighters.

Antonov AN225 Mriya

Covid-19 has affected cargo operators too but in many instances cargo movements have increased especially with PPE, testing kits and other medical equipment being shipped worldwide. Anchorage was one such place that saw a rice in their cargo volumes. For the second quarter of the year the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC), handled some 900,000 tonnes of cargo. which represents a 14.5% increase. The last record the airport set for a quarter was in 2017 when it recorded 824,000 tonnes. The extra bump in cargo movements though can be attributed to passenger aircraft not operating at normal levels. Alot of cargo is flown with passenger aircraft. "The decimation of trans-Pacific passenger traffic caused by the Covid-19 pandemic has displaced literally hundreds of thousands of tons of air cargo that used to fly in the bellies of passenger planes," said airport manager Jim Szczesniak.

Interesting from Hi-Fly.

AN-22 freighter

The An-22 is the world's largest turboprop aircraft and it happens to be a freighter as well. Recently this aircraft carried some vital cargo equipment from Belgium to Turkey to help in the repair of an undersea pipeline that runs between Turkey and Cyprus. Part of the equipment included a winch in a specialized container. The work needed to be carried out at a depth of 400M under the surface.

A new Boeing 77F was delivered to the Voga Dnepr Group yesterday. The aircraft will be operated by the Group's subsidiary Air Bridge Cargo (ABC). "We are delighted to welcome Volga-Dnepr Group as our newest customer as they introduce the 777 Freighter to their fleet,” said Firoz Tarapore, DAE’s Chief Executive Officer. "DAE Capital is the world’s largest lessor of the profitable and efficient 777 Freighter. We look forward to a long and rewarding relationship with Volga-Dnepr Group as they continue to grow their successful operations." The aircraft registration is VQ-BAO.

Antonov AN-124 landing taxi, taxi and departure in Puerto Rico (SJU).

ATR recently announced the successful first flight of its new purpose-built regional freighter aircraft. The flight took off at 14:00 (2PM LT) from its Saint-Martin site for two hours of flight tests. The normal tests were carried out like flight performance and putting the aircraft through the flight envelope. FedEx is supposed to be the launch customer for the aircraft and has made firm orders for 30 planes of the type with options for 20 more.

Boeing gets new orders for 737 conversions to freighters. (BCF program). The order is for two Boeing 737-800 (BCF)s There is an uptick in freighter activity and demand and as a result has expanded and opened up the conversion line in Asia to meet the demand. The order came from an undisclosed customer.