cargo-only flights

Virgin Atlantic has an extensive cargo network using passenger aircraft that are flying without passengers.

Domestic airlines want to put cargo in passenger seats or stacked on the cabin floor, as some foreign counterparts are already doing. But they first need authorization from U.S. authorities.

The idea of using passenger planes as freighters would have been considered farfetched in February since the main deck can’t be loaded with large pallets. But when there’s a pandemic and a shortage of cargo space, the logistics community gets creative and these planes are being booked at a rapid pace.