As demand for air cargo space continues to grow, and with many airlines expecting a slow regrowth of their routes and therefore their cargo capacity, the all-cargo carriers continue to ramp up fleets, taking advantage of retiring passenger fleets.
In one of the latest moves, UPS Airlines has snapped up five of the three-engine MD11s, fondly nicknamed Mad Dogs, that were the backbone of Delta’s and American’s domestic fleets until retiring over the past couple of years. They are being converted to all-freight by Boeing. UPS points out that “They can haul a lot of cargo, and they are cheap. A very cost-effective purchase.”
In international cargo, where grounded passenger flights have meant the loss of cargo space, too, more and more airlines are flying all-cargo flights with packages strapped into passenger seats. As flying revives, the cargo will return to the hold, but perhaps slowly.
Meanwhile, the domestic side of cargo, the package express business and especially next-day service is the demand is growing rapidly enough—20.5% in the last quarter—to keep the cargo lines ordering planes. UPS has 13 more 747s on order from Boeing along with 22 767s, and Fedex is not far behind.
