Airlines Worldwide Remove Seats to Carry Cargo Instead of Passengers... "Cargo Rates Rising"

United Airlines Reaches 5,000th Dedicated Cargo Flight Milestone
Airline Steps Up Competition in Freight Transport

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Airlines severely impacted by the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) are focusing on their cargo business, Bloomberg reported on the 3rd (local time). With increased demand for certain goods such as medical supplies, air cargo freight rates for passenger planes have risen, helping to offset some losses.

According to the report, before COVID-19, 60% of air cargo was transported via the cargo holds under passenger cabins, but due to many passenger flights being suspended amid the pandemic, air cargo freight costs have surged significantly. Freight rates from Hong Kong to North America have risen about 60% since the beginning of this year.

Bloomberg Intelligence predicted that passenger numbers will not recover to pre-pandemic levels until 2022. Accordingly, airlines are seeking ways to secure cargo freight rates to compensate for revenue losses.

United Airlines in the U.S. recently recorded its 5,000th dedicated cargo flight, increasing the proportion of cargo planes. United Airlines’ cargo transport revenue rose 36% in the second quarter alone, reaching $402 million. American Airlines also resumed cargo plane operations for the first time in 35 years. In September, it plans to operate over 1,000 dedicated cargo flights to 32 destinations across Latin America, Europe, and Asia.

In Asia, Singapore low-cost carrier Scoot Airlines converted a passenger plane into a cargo plane last month. One Airbus A320 was modified by removing all passenger seats to create space. Korean Air and Asiana Airlines also expanded their cargo divisions, with Korean Air turning a profit in operating income in the second quarter compared to the same period last year, and cargo division sales doubling year-on-year to 1.2259 trillion won.

Emirates Airlines, ranked 4th worldwide in cargo aircraft ownership, increased its cargo flight destinations to 50 in early April, 75 in May, and 100 in July. Nabil Sultan, Senior Vice President of Emirates Airlines, stated that the number of cargo flight destinations has now increased to 115, and to meet cargo transport demand, not only cargo planes but also passenger planes are being deployed for cargo transport.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.