The air cargo industry is operating with an anchor tied around its waist: The absence of strong passenger service.
Cargo is no longer the stepchild at passenger airlines. Strong cargo sales have helped keep airlines afloat as revenues plunge during the coronavirus. Will we see airlines start to buy freighters to capitalize on cargo demand?
“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.
Some people call it the Flying Forehead. The A380 is a double-deck plane that airlines quickly parked when the coronavirus destroyed travel demand. Now, Emirates is starting to fly a few of the mammoth planes.
No part of United Airlines was spared from job cuts announced Wednesday, but the cargo division’s roughly 50 job losses are far fewer than those in other parts of the company.
U.S. passenger travel seems capped at about 70% of last year’s level until there is a coronavirus vaccine. International travel is a dumpster fire — carriers heavily exposed to international markets will take longer to fix their balance sheets.
Price inflation has tapered off for many – not all – air cargo markets during the second half of August. Shippers shouldn’t get used to it.
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.
The CARES Act was a Band-Aid for the airline industry, holding tens of thousands of jobs in place for a brief period. Now the Band-Aid is coming off and without a fresh dressing, American Airlines and competitors are planning big layoffs.
Airfreight exports from China slowed a bit in mid-August, allowing shippers to take back a tiny bit of pricing before rates shoot up for the next few months in as retailers build inventory for the holidays.
