Cargo never got a window view during air transport until the coronavirus pandemic led airlines to find innovative ways to mitigate the loss of passenger revenue. Alaska Airlines is joining other carriers in stowing boxes and mailbags in seats.
The A380 isn’t prized for its cargo capability, but when operated in “ghost” mode there’s a lot more room for stuff.
Delta is responding to customer willingness to pay good rates for airfreight by adding more cargo-only flights.
“Look, Mom, no seats!” That’s Korean Air saying it’s flying a passenger plane with the seats removed because it can make more money putting cargo on the floor.
If you’re an airline with the name Scoot, you’ve got to move fast. The Singapore carrier did that when it transitioned to cargo flights and removing passenger seats.
United Airlines’ early commitment to quasi-freighter operations as the coronavirus crisis grew has paid off financially. The airline is ramping up cargo operations even further during the third quarter.
Delta Air Lines is stripping — seats that is. Removing seats from passenger aircraft adds capacity for lucrative cargo.
There was a marked difference in how Canada and the U.S. reacted to the opportunity of transforming passenger aircraft into twin-deck freighters by removing the seats. One country moved very fast. The other was slow to the party.
The FAA’s ruling allowing airlines to jam more cargo in the cabin by removing passenger seats may be a pyrrhic victory. The incentive to do so may have passed.
One of the big innovations for passenger airlines during the coronavirus era is using their planes as dedicated cargo haulers. Cargo 2.0 was putting boxes in storage bins and other seats. Cargo 3.0 is cargo on seats.
