A preighter, also known as cargo in cabin, is an aircraft originally intended to carry passengers but which is operated temporarily as a
cargo aircraft
A cargo aircraft (also known as freight aircraft, freighter, airlifter or cargo jet) is a fixed-wing aircraft that is designed or converted for the carriage of air cargo, cargo rather than passenger aircraft, passengers. Such aircraft usually ...
by loading freight in the
passenger cabin. The term is a
portmanteau
A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of words[Lufthansa
Deutsche Lufthansa AG (), commonly shortened to Lufthansa, is the flag carrier of Germany. When combined with its subsidiaries, it is the second- largest airline in Europe in terms of passengers carried. Lufthansa is one of the five founding m ...](_blank)
chief executive
Carsten Spohr
Carsten Spohr (born 16 December 1966) is a German airline executive. Since May 2014 he has been the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Lufthansa.
Education
After graduating with a degree in industrial engineering from the University of ...
; it came to use as commercial airlines responded to the
2020 COVID-19 pandemic.
History
Prior to the
precipitous drop in air travel caused by the outbreak of
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, cargo capacity in the
belly hold of passenger aircraft accounted for half of global
air freight
Air cargo is any property carried or to be carried in an aircraft. Air cargo comprises air freight, air express and airmail.
Aircraft types
Different cargo can be transported by passenger, cargo or combi aircraft:
* Passenger aircraft use the ...
, rising as high as 80% on transatlantic routes. With the cancellation of many passenger flights and the corresponding loss of capacity in holds, existing dedicated
freighter aircraft were insufficient to meet demand, and the price for air cargo increased.
Although passenger aircraft can be converted into dedicated cargo aircraft, this process may take years, whereas jets carrying cargo in the passenger cabin can be deployed much faster. With a loss of freight capacity and the urgent need to distribute massive amounts of
personal protective equipment
Personal protective equipment (PPE) is protective clothing, helmets, goggles, or other garments or equipment designed to protect the wearer's body from injury or infection. The hazards addressed by protective equipment include physical, elec ...
around the world in the fight against COVID, hundreds of unused passenger aircraft were temporarily employed in a freighter role. Such aircraft have also helped deliver mail, medical supplies, tools and other cargo.
Operations
Preighters can be operated either by temporarily removing seats or, in some cases, packing cargo onto existing seats. During the disruption of COVID-19, at least 200 passenger aircraft around the world were modified to serve as preighters by removing most or all of the cabin seating. Cargo can also be stored securely between seats, in
luggage bins or strapped down if seats are partially or completely removed. Limitations on where and how cargo may be safely transported in a passenger cabin may vary by the type of cargo.
Carrying cargo by methods not originally designed, especially when it involves reconfiguring an aircraft, requires approval of the appropriate regulatory bodies for the regions where the aircraft operates. The
International Air Transport Association
The International Air Transport Association (IATA ) is a trade association of the world's airlines founded in 1945. IATA has been described as a cartel since, in addition to setting technical standards for airlines, IATA also organized tariff ...
further advises that a comprehensive safety assessment be completed in all cases. In 2021, European regulators set a limit on total flight hours for preighters out of concern that carriers might underestimate possible increased fire risks.
Loading and unloading a preighter aircraft often requires more time and work by airline staff than would a dedicated freighter aircraft. As there is no dedicated system for loading, most of the process must be completed manually by airline or airport staff. In some cases, this can take a significant physical toll on
ground handling agents.
Airlines
Numerous major airlines have operated passenger aircraft as preighters since the beginning of the 2020 pandemic. Notable examples include the following:
* In February 2021,
British Airways
British Airways (BA) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a populati ...
used a
Boeing 777
The Boeing 777, commonly referred to as the Triple Seven, is an American long-range wide-body airliner developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It is the world's largest twinjet.
The 777 was designed to bridge the gap bet ...
aircraft to deliver 1.7 million masks to Germany.
* As an early pioneer of preighter flights,
Ethiopian
Ethiopians are the native inhabitants of Ethiopia, as well as the global diaspora of Ethiopia. Ethiopians constitute several component ethnic groups, many of which are closely related to ethnic groups in neighboring Eritrea and other parts of ...
has operated over 5,600 flights carrying cargo in passenger cabins. The airline's use of preighters helped keep Ethiopian's entire fleet of 16
A350-900
The Airbus A350 is a long-range, wide-body twin-engine jet airliner developed and produced by Airbus.
The first A350 design proposed by Airbus in 2004, in response to the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, would have been a development of the A330 w ...
jets flying throughout the pandemic.
*
Saudia
Saudia ( ar, السعودية '), formerly known as Saudi Arabian Airlines (), is the flag carrier of Saudi Arabia, based in Jeddah. The airline's main operational base is at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah. King Khalid Internati ...
's first-ever commercial flight to Denmark was operated as a preighter service.
*
A380
The Airbus A380 is a large wide-body airliner that was developed and produced by Airbus. It is the world's largest passenger airliner and only full-length double-deck jet airliner.
Airbus studies started in 1988, and the project was annou ...
aircraft—the world's largest commercial passenger jets—have been used for temporary cargo operations by both
Hi-Fly and
Emirates
Emirates may refer to:
* United Arab Emirates, a Middle Eastern country
* Emirate, any territory ruled by an emir
** Gulf emirates, emirates located on the Persian Gulf
** Emirates of the United Arab Emirates, the individual emirates
* The Emirat ...
.
*
Korean Air
Korean Air Co., Ltd. (), operating as Korean Air (Korean Air Lines before 1984), is the flag carrier of South Korea and its largest airline based on fleet size, international destinations and international flights.
The present-day Korean Air ...
flew the longest nonstop flight in the company's history as a preighter service in June 2021 operating for over 14 hours between Seoul and Miami. The Boeing 777 was carrying 15 tons of COVID-19 diagnostic supplies headed for the Dominican Republic and made use of both the cargo and passenger areas onboard.
* An Iberia A330, to be operated by IAG Cargo, was repurposed as a "preighter" in late 2020.
Additional carriers that have flown a preighter in some form include
Lufthansa
Deutsche Lufthansa AG (), commonly shortened to Lufthansa, is the flag carrier of Germany. When combined with its subsidiaries, it is the second- largest airline in Europe in terms of passengers carried. Lufthansa is one of the five founding m ...
,
Alitalia
Alitalia - Società Aerea Italiana Società per azioni, S.p.A., operating as Alitalia (), was an Italian airline which was once the flag carrier and largest airline of Italy. The company had its head office in Fiumicino, Metropolitan City of ...
,
KLM
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, legally ''Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V.'' (literal translation: Royal Aviation Company Plc.), is the flag carrier airline of the Netherlands. KLM is headquartered in Amstelveen, with its hub at nearby Amste ...
,
SWISS
Swiss may refer to:
* the adjectival form of Switzerland
* Swiss people
Places
* Swiss, Missouri
* Swiss, North Carolina
*Swiss, West Virginia
* Swiss, Wisconsin
Other uses
*Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports
*Swiss Internation ...
,
Qantas
Qantas Airways Limited ( ) is the flag carrier of Australia and the country's largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations. It is the world's third-oldest airline still in operation, having been founded ...
,
Air Canada
Air Canada is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Canada by the size and passengers carried. Air Canada maintains its headquarters in the borough of Saint-Laurent, Montreal, Quebec. The airline, founded in 1937, provides scheduled and ...
,
Austrian Airlines
Austrian Airlines AG, often shortened to Austrian, is the flag carrier of Austria and a subsidiary of the Lufthansa Group. The airline is headquartered on the grounds of Vienna International Airport in Schwechat where it also maintains its hub ...
,
Vietnam Airlines
Vietnam Airlines ( vi, Hãng Hàng không Quốc gia Việt Nam, lit=Vietnam National Airlines) is the flag carrier of Vietnam. The airline was founded in 1956 and later established as a Government-owned corporation, state-owned enterprise i ...
,
Cathay Pacific
Cathay Pacific Airways Limited (CPA), more widely known as Cathay Pacific (), is the flag carrier of Hong Kong, with its head office and main hub located at Hong Kong International Airport. The airline's operations and subsidiaries have sc ...
,
Cebu Pacific
Cebu Air, Inc., operating as Cebu Pacific (), is a low-cost airline of the Philippines. Founded in 1988, it is Asia's oldest low-cost airline. It offers scheduled flights to both domestic and international destinations. The airline operates fl ...
,
Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the List of airlines by foundation date, world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atla ...
and
United Airlines
United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois. .
See also
*
Cargo airline
Cargo airlines (or air freight carriers, and derivatives of these names) are airlines mainly dedicated to the transport of cargo by air. Some cargo airlines are divisions or subsidiaries of larger passenger airlines.
In 2018, airline cargo traf ...
*
Passenger-to-cargo aircraft conversion
References
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