EXECUTIVES of major US airlines are preparing for a massive airlift of Covid-19 vaccines that will not only boost cargo business but help bring back passenger flights that shut down during the pandemic.
Travel demand is hovering around 40 per cent of 2019 levels and will not return to normal until vaccines are widely distributed. In the meantime, the vaccine transportation itself could help airlines bring back parked jets and start reopening routes.
'I think we're going to reach a point fairly soon as multiple vaccines are approved that most of the planes that are operating are going to be carrying vaccines,' said Roger Samways, vice president of Cargo Sales at American Airlines.
'We're really looking at what could end up being the largest single airlift in commercial aviation history,' he said.
Commercial planes normally carry around half the world's air cargo in their bellies, with the remainder hauled in dedicated freighter planes. But a drastic reduction in passenger routes during the pandemic has slashed overall air capacity in the market.
Airlines began operating cargo-only charter flights with essential goods early in the pandemic that have become the main driver of an international business that has otherwise collapsed.
As American prepares to fly vaccines to some 150 locations across 46 countries where it already ships pharmaceuticals, it is hoping to put passengers on some of those flights too, Mr Samways said.
American already turned cargo charters to places like Sao Paolo, Santiago, and London into revenue passenger flights earlier this year that would not have been viable given the overall sharp downturn in demand.
United Airlines said cargo flights also helped expand its passenger network over the summer following weekly meetings between cargo and network planning teams to pinpoint demand.
'We continue to have those meetings on a weekly basis,' cargo chief Christopher Busch said.
To shorten the run time for vaccines, United is now parking planes right behind its cargo facility in Chicago, rather than at passenger gates, Mr Busch said, and has added refrigerated rooms to meet some of the vaccine requirements.
American said vaccines will be the last to load and the first to come off its planes, and the vaccines will not sit at an airport for more than two hours on either end. The airline has a 25,000-square-foot cargo facility with three temperature zones in Philadelphia, near 14 of the largest 20 pharmaceutical companies.
Delta Air Lines has a 40,000-square-foot, temperature-controlled facility in Atlanta, where it is running a cargo control tower day and night to prepare for vaccine distribution support.
Research firm Cowen is estimating US$400 million in vaccine cargo revenue in 2021. While the share for airlines is unclear, it will be a welcome boost for a loss-making industry, though not enough to put it in the black without a recovery in passenger traffic, reports Reuters.
SeaNews Turkey
Travel demand is hovering around 40 per cent of 2019 levels and will not return to normal until vaccines are widely distributed. In the meantime, the vaccine transportation itself could help airlines bring back parked jets and start reopening routes.
'I think we're going to reach a point fairly soon as multiple vaccines are approved that most of the planes that are operating are going to be carrying vaccines,' said Roger Samways, vice president of Cargo Sales at American Airlines.
'We're really looking at what could end up being the largest single airlift in commercial aviation history,' he said.
Commercial planes normally carry around half the world's air cargo in their bellies, with the remainder hauled in dedicated freighter planes. But a drastic reduction in passenger routes during the pandemic has slashed overall air capacity in the market.
Airlines began operating cargo-only charter flights with essential goods early in the pandemic that have become the main driver of an international business that has otherwise collapsed.
As American prepares to fly vaccines to some 150 locations across 46 countries where it already ships pharmaceuticals, it is hoping to put passengers on some of those flights too, Mr Samways said.
American already turned cargo charters to places like Sao Paolo, Santiago, and London into revenue passenger flights earlier this year that would not have been viable given the overall sharp downturn in demand.
United Airlines said cargo flights also helped expand its passenger network over the summer following weekly meetings between cargo and network planning teams to pinpoint demand.
'We continue to have those meetings on a weekly basis,' cargo chief Christopher Busch said.
To shorten the run time for vaccines, United is now parking planes right behind its cargo facility in Chicago, rather than at passenger gates, Mr Busch said, and has added refrigerated rooms to meet some of the vaccine requirements.
American said vaccines will be the last to load and the first to come off its planes, and the vaccines will not sit at an airport for more than two hours on either end. The airline has a 25,000-square-foot cargo facility with three temperature zones in Philadelphia, near 14 of the largest 20 pharmaceutical companies.
Delta Air Lines has a 40,000-square-foot, temperature-controlled facility in Atlanta, where it is running a cargo control tower day and night to prepare for vaccine distribution support.
Research firm Cowen is estimating US$400 million in vaccine cargo revenue in 2021. While the share for airlines is unclear, it will be a welcome boost for a loss-making industry, though not enough to put it in the black without a recovery in passenger traffic, reports Reuters.
SeaNews Turkey