Cargolux Boeing 747-400F

Cargo airlines (or airfreight carriers, and derivatives of these names) are airlines dedicated to the transport of cargo. Some cargo airlines are divisions or subsidiaries of larger passenger airlines.

Logistics[link]

Air transport is a vital component of many international logistics networks, essential to managing and controlling the flow of goods, energy, information and other resources like products, services, and people, from the source of production to the marketplace. It is difficult or nearly impossible to accomplish any international trading, global export/import processes, international repositioning of raw materials/products and manufacturing without a professional logistical support. It involves the integration of information, transportation, inventory, warehousing, material handling, and packaging. The operating responsibility of logistics is the geographical repositioning of raw materials, work in process, and finished inventories where required at the lowest cost possible.

Aircraft used[link]

FedEx Express DC-10

Larger cargo airlines tend to use new or recently built aircraft to carry their freight, but many use older aircraft, like the Boeing 707, Boeing 727, Douglas DC-8, DC-10, MD-11, Boeing 747, and the Ilyushin Il-76. Examples of the 60-year-old Douglas DC-3 are still flying around the world carrying cargo (as well as passengers). Short range turboprop airliners such as the An-12, An-26, Fokker Friendship, and British Aerospace ATP are now being modified to accept standard air freight pallets to extend their working lives. This normally involves the replacement of glazed windows with opaque panels, the strengthening of the cabin floor and insertion of a broad top-hinged door in one side of the fuselage.

An-225, world's largest aircraft, also used by cargo airline.

Antonov An-225 and Antonov An-124 are the worlds' largest aircraft, used for transporting large shipments and oversized cargos.

Usage of large military airplanes for commercial purposes, pioneered by Ukraine's Antonov Airlines in the 1990s, has allowed new types of cargo in aerial transportation.

A number of cargo airlines carry a few passengers from time to time on their flights^{[citation needed]}, and UPS Airlines once unsuccessfully tried a passenger charter airline division.

Notable cargo airlines[link]

European Air Transport (EAT) Airbus A300B4F. EAT is a subsidiary of DHL Aviation, one of the world's largest cargo airline companies.

UPS Worldport Air Hub at Louisville International Airport.

All-cargo[link]

Some of these companies have stopped operating or have been merged into other carriers.

• Absa
• ABX Air
• Aerologic
• Aeromodal Cargolifter
• ACT Airlines
• AirBridge Cargo
• Airnet Express
• Air Hong Kong
• Air Transport International
• Alaska Central Express
• American International Airways/Kalitta
• Antonov Airlines
• Aloha Air Cargo
• Atlantic Airlines (United Kingdom)
• Atlas Air
• ATRAN Cargo Airlines
• Arrow Airways Inc.
• Australian air Express
• Avient Aviation
• Blue Dart Aviation
• Burlington Air Express
• CAL Cargo Air Lines
• Capital Cargo International Airlines
• Cargo 360
• Cardig Air Cargo
• Cargoitalia
• Cargojet Airways
• Cargolux
• Challenger Air Cargo
• China Postal Airlines
• Cielos Airlines
• DAS Air Cargo
• Deccan 360 Express Logistics
• DHL
• DHL International Aviation ME
• East Air Cargo
• Emerald Air
• Emery Worldwide
• Empost
• European Air Transport (branded "DHL")
• Evergreen International Airlines
• FedEx Express
• Fine Air
• First Flight
• Flying Tiger Line
• Freight India Logistics Pvt Ltd
• Grandstar Cargo
• Gemini Air Cargo
• Gestair Cargo
• Great Wall Airlines
• Heavylift Cargo Airlines
• Jade Cargo International
• K-Mile Air
• Kalitta Air
• Kelowna Flightcraft Air Charter (on behalf of Purolator)
• Kitty Hawk Aircargo
• Maximus Air Cargo
• Midex Cargo
• Millennium Air Xpress
• MNG Airlines
• Murray Air (National Air Cargo Group)
• National Airlines (5M)
• Nippon Cargo Airlines
• Polar Air Cargo
• Polet Airlines
• Quickjet Cargo
• RAF-Avia
• Reair - Reaching Horizons
• Saint-X Cargo
• Seaboard World Airlines
• SF Cargo
• Sky Capital Airlines
• SNAS Aviation
• Southern Air
• SprintAir
• Sundt Atlanta Skybridge
• Swiftport
• Swiftair
• Tampa Cargo
• TCS Courier
• TMA Cargo
• TNT
• Tol Air
• Transmile Air Services
• Tri-MG Intra Asia Airlines
• ULS Airlines Cargo
• UPS Airlines
• Varig Log
• Volga-Dnepr
• World Airways Cargo
• Yangtze River Express

All-cargo subsidiary[link]

Freight divisions of passenger airlines operating their own or leased freighter aircraft, some shut down or merged with others.

Air India Cargo Airbus A310 plane.

Loading a Singapore Airlines Cargo Boeing 747 from the front .

• Aeroflot Cargo
• Air China Cargo
• Air India Cargo
• Air France Cargo
• Air Macau Cargo
• ANA Cargo
• Asiana Cargo
• Cathay Pacific Cargo
• China Airlines Cargo
• China Cargo Airlines (China Eastern)
• China Southern Cargo
• EgyptAir Cargo
• EL AL Cargo
• Emirates SkyCargo
• Ethiopian Airlines Cargo
• Etihad Crystal Cargo
• EVA Air Cargo
• Finnair Cargo
• Hong Kong Airlines Cargo
• Icelandair Cargo
• Iran Air Cargo
• Korean Air Cargo
• LAN Cargo
• Lufthansa Cargo
• MASkargo
• Martinair Cargo
• NWA Cargo
• Qatar Airways Cargo
• RAM Cargo
• Royal Jordanian Cargo
• Saudi Arabian Airlines Cargo
• Shanghai Airlines Cargo
• Singapore Airlines Cargo
• South African Airways Cargo
• Turkish Airlines Cargo
• Uzbekistan Airways Cargo
• Yakutia Airlines Cargo

Freight divisions without fleet using passenger aircraft belly hold or having other cargo airlines fly on their behalf, some of these previously had freighters:

• Alaska Air Cargo
• American Airlines Freight
• Avianca Cargo
• British Airways World Cargo (opb Global Supply, three a/c to be in full BA Cargo scheme)
• Cargo Garuda Indonesia
• Czech Airlines Cargo
• Delta Airlines Cargo
• Dragon Air Cargo
• Gol Transportes Aereos
• Gulf Air Cargo
• Iberia Cargo
• Japan Airlines Cargo
• Kenya Airways Cargo
• KLM Cargo (opb Martinair Cargo, four a/c in full KLM scheme)
• Kuwait Airways Cargo
• LOT Polish Airlines Cargo
• Pakistan International Airlines Cargo
• Qantas Freight (two a/c opb Express Freighters in Qantas scheme minus logo)
• SAS Cargo Group
• Shaheen Air Cargo
• SriLankan Cargo
• Sudan Airways
• Swiss WorldCargo
• Thai Airways Cargo (two a/c opb Southern Air in full Thai Cargo scheme)
• United Airlines Cargo

These carriers operate freighter aircraft but do not have a Cargo division:

• Air Koryo
• Ariana Afghan Airlines
• Azerbaijan Airlines
• Iraqi Airways
• Syrian Air
• Tajik Air
• Turkmenistan Airlines

World's largest freight carriers by scheduled freight tonne-kilometres flown[link]

2004 total scheduled freight tonne-kilometers flown[link]

1. FedEx Express 14.579 million
2. Korean Air 8.264 million
3. Lufthansa Cargo 8.040 million
4. United Parcel Service 7.353 million
5. Singapore Airlines Cargo 7.143 million
6. Cathay Pacific 5.876 million
7. China Airlines 5.642 million
8. Eva Airways 5.477 million
9. Air France 5.388 million
10. Japan Airlines 4.924 million

2004 international scheduled freight tonne-kilometers flown[link]

1. Korean Air 8.164 million
2. Lufthansa Cargo 8.028 million
3. Singapore Airlines Cargo 7.143 million
4. Cathay Pacific 5.876 million
5. China Airlines 5.642 million
6. FedEx Express 5.595 million
7. Eva Airways 5.477 million
8. Air France 5.384 million
9. British Airways 4.771 million
10. Cargolux 4.670 million

2004 domestic scheduled freight tonne-kilometres flown[link]

1. FedEx Express 8.984 million
2. United Parcel Service 4.260 million
3. Northwest Airlines 0.949 million
4. China Southern Airlines 0.860 million
5. American Airlines 0.576 million
6. Delta Air Lines 0.557 million
7. Air China 0.531 million
8. United Airlines 0.525 million
9. Cargojet Airways 0.517 million
10. China Eastern Airlines 0.458 million

Source for 2004 data: International Air Transport Association. Note that it only includes data for member airlines.

See also[link]

• Airlift
• Cargo aircraft
• Container terminal
• Counter-to-counter package
• HAZMAT
• IATA e-freight

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Cargo airline

• Cargo Aircraft Specifications- Indicative freighter aircraft specifications for comparison.

v t e Firms with multiple air carrier cargo holdings Air Transport Services Group • ABX Air • Air Transport International • Capital Cargo International Airlines Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings • Atlas Air • Polar Air Cargo HIG Capital . • Amerijet International Saltchuk Resources • Aloha Air Cargo • Northern Air Cargo Alliance Management Center (AMC) • Centurion Air Cargo . . FedEx Corporation • FedEx Express . Oak Hill Capital Partners - Southern Air Holdings, Inc. • Southern Air United Parcel Service • UPS Airlines .