passenger aircraft

Cathay Pacific sending planes to Australia for storage during pandemic

Staring straight ahead at a big white jet. from the front. Cathay Pacific is storing planes in sunny climates.

Cathay Pacific Airways (OTCUS: CPCAY) is sending part of its fleet overseas to ride out the coronavirus pandemic in drier locations where weather conditions are more forgiving than in humid Hong Kong.

About one-third of Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon aircraft will be sent to locations with drier conditions in the coming months to help keep them in optimal condition, Ronald Lam, chief customer and commercial officer, said in the August edition of the company’s cargo newsletter.

Cathay Dragon is...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/cathay-pacific-sending-planes-to-australia-for-storage-during-pandemic

Freighters to the rescue: Korean Air posts Q2 profit

A pale blue Korean Air 747 cargo jet soars into a bright blue sky. Korean Air's cargo division helped the airline survive the coronavirus downturn.

Korean Air leveraged its cargo operation to turn a profit in the second quarter when nearly every other passenger airline has reported enormous losses after COVID-19 travel restrictions brought most flight operations to a standstill. 

The South Korean carrier has one advantage that many pure passenger airlines lack – freighters. The company said it increased the operation rate of its freighter fleet and maximized cargo supply on passenger airplanes to generate an operating profit of $123.7...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/freighters-to-the-rescue-korean-air-posts-q2-profit

Role Reversal: Passenger airlines make more from cargo sales in Q2

A white British Airways jet with cargo pallets waiting to be loaded on a sunny day. British Airways contributed heavily to IAG Cargo's strong Q2 cargo results.

Add Air Canada (TO: AC) and IAG Group (LSE: IAG), parent of British Airways, to the list of passenger airlines that significantly increased cargo revenues in the second quarter even as the coronavirus crisis otherwise destroyed the industry’s finances. 

Air France-KLM (CXE: AF) also came out ahead on cargo in last week’s earnings results, something many competitors, such as Cathay Pacific (OTCUS: CPCAY) and Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL), were unable to do.

In each case, cargo revenues notably grew...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/passenger-airlines-make-more-from-cargo-sales-in-q2

United Airlines goes on cargo tear

Hydraulic lift platform lifts cargo pallets to door of United Airlines jet. United Airlines has figured out how to make money off of cargo during the pandemic.

Airlines have touted how much dedicated cargo flying they’re doing with transformed passenger planes, but United Airlines is the only major U.S. carrier where cargo is boosting the bottom line during the COVID pandemic.

United’s second-quarter earnings last week included an eye-popping 36.3% increase in cargo revenue to $402 million. Cargo-ton-miles were up 40.3% to 496 million. Even more impressive is the fact that cargo revenue represented 27.3% of the company’s total operating revenue...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/united-airlines-goes-on-cargo-tear

FAA clears airlines to remove passenger seats for cargo

Boxes stored in cabin where passenger seats normally go.

The Federal Aviation Administration late Friday gave U.S. airlines permission to remove passenger seats and transport cargo on the floor of the cabin in aircraft being deployed on cargo-only flights.

The exemption to existing regulations governing aircraft operations lasts for one year. The FAA also extended until July 10, 2021, its prior ruling that airlines could fly with cargo strapped into the seats through the end of this year.

The FAA’s response may be too late to benefit passenger airlines...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/faa-clears-airlines-to-remove-passenger-seats-for-cargo

Airfreight Pulse: More capacity eases pressure on rates

Flight preparations as viewed from behind and below the tail of a big jetliner.

Airfreight rates continued to fall in July as virus-related shipments gave way to a more normal mix of commodities and beefed-up passenger schedules presented greater transport opportunities for shippers.

But there are signs the trend may not last. The ebb and flow of coronavirus containment and spread in different regions of the world presents a cautionary note against expectations the airline industry recovery will continue in a straight line without interruption, and that cargo capacity won’t...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/airfreight-pulse-more-capacity-eases-pressure-on-rates

Boeing to help airlines keep airplanes disease-free

Chicago-based aircraft manufacturer Boeing (NYSE: BA) has appointed one of its lead engineers to develop health-safety policies and procedures for passenger aircraft during the new COVID-19 era.

While eager to resume commercial flights, airlines are already planning to implement more intensive in-cabin sanitation programs when governments begin easing travel restrictions.

On Thursday, Boeing named Mike Delaney, vice president of digital transformation, to head its Confident Travel Initiative,...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/boeing-to-help-airlines-keep-airplanes-disease-free

Shanghai Pudong airport continues to choke on cargo

Cargo terminal at Shanghai Airport.

Cargo terminals at Shanghai’s Pudong International Airport remain extremely congested, but logistics companies responsible for getting shipments from their customers and on planes say the flood of freight trapped in warehouses is slowly beginning to recede.

“There are some green shoots of progress,” Neel Jones Shah, global head of airfreight at tech-enabled forwarder Flexport, said in an interview. “Some backlogs have been worked through. We’re getting a little bit of clearance in our own...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/shanghai-pudong-airport-continues-to-choke-on-cargo

Delta to retire 777 fleet by year’s end

A white Delta plane crosses the sky.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) announced Thursday that it plans to permanently retire its 18 twin-aisle Boeing 777s by the end of the year and write off $1.4 billion to $1.7 billion in the second quarter after determining that the airplanes, as well as its remaining MD-90s that are going to a boneyard, have no recoverable value.

Meanwhile, cargo demand is making possible the introduction of three new passenger flights per week from Atlanta and Detroit to Frankfurt, Germany, and London,...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/delta-to-retire-777-fleet-by-years-end

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