FOLLOWING the decline of the air cargo market after its peak during the pandemic, virgin Atlantic Cargo (VAC) expressed that the operation of freighters is now highly unlikely, reports London's Air Cargo News.
VAC managing director Phil Wardlaw stated that for freighter operations to be considered, favourable economic conditions such as high demand and rates would need to emerge in the market.
'At the moment, the economics of wet leasing the aircraft directly ourselves and running those lanes don't add up,' said Mr Wardlaw.
'I think we'd have to see some of those economic conditions return which saw us use freighters in the first place. So I think it's highly unlikely. Our core model is passenger belly capacity.'
Mr Wardlaw stated although it doesn't make financial sense for VAC to operate freighters, demand still exists on some trade lanes in Europe.
'I think there's still an opportunity on some of those lanes in Europe. There's definitely still demand. And some of our customers still talk to us around that ability, whether it's Brussels, Frankfurt or Amsterdam,' said Mr Wardlaw.
The airline previously had a London-Brussels service operated by Titan Airways, utilizing an Airbus A321P2F, which began in May last year and ran until October, after which it began operating on an ad hoc basis until Christmas.
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VAC managing director Phil Wardlaw stated that for freighter operations to be considered, favourable economic conditions such as high demand and rates would need to emerge in the market.
'At the moment, the economics of wet leasing the aircraft directly ourselves and running those lanes don't add up,' said Mr Wardlaw.
'I think we'd have to see some of those economic conditions return which saw us use freighters in the first place. So I think it's highly unlikely. Our core model is passenger belly capacity.'
Mr Wardlaw stated although it doesn't make financial sense for VAC to operate freighters, demand still exists on some trade lanes in Europe.
'I think there's still an opportunity on some of those lanes in Europe. There's definitely still demand. And some of our customers still talk to us around that ability, whether it's Brussels, Frankfurt or Amsterdam,' said Mr Wardlaw.
The airline previously had a London-Brussels service operated by Titan Airways, utilizing an Airbus A321P2F, which began in May last year and ran until October, after which it began operating on an ad hoc basis until Christmas.
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