During 2023, the heavy lift airfreight market continued to grapple with the impacts of the Russian-Ukraine war, as other providers in the sector beefed up their capabilities.
2023 kicked off with Kuehne + Nagel (K+N) completing the maiden flight of its Boeing 747-8F aircraft Inspire – transporting a 9-tonne Rolls Royce aircraft engine from Chicago to Hong Kong. Inspire joined the K+N fleet during 2022 as part of the long-term charter agreement of two B747-8Fs with Atlas Air. In February, Apex Logistics International (part of K+N) took delivery of the second B747-8 – Empower – the last 747 ever to be manufactured.
While the opening months of 2023 saw the last of the iconic aircraft – of which 1,574 have been built since 1967 – roll into the hangars of K+N, the summer months saw the continued fallout of the Russian-Ukraine war’s impact on the worldwide fleet of AN-124s and Volga-Dnepr’s operations. In June, it was reported that the Canadian government ordered the seizure of a Volga-Dnepr AN-124 stranded at Toronto Pearson Airport since the start of the war in Ukraine – a move that later led to the airline threatening legal action against the Canadian government.
The fate of UK freighter operator CargoLogicAir, meanwhile, has also yet to be determined, its administration period extended by two years as it looks to meet creditor demands. CargoLogicAir, which operated B747 freighters, was forced to halt services in 2022 after sanctions relating to the Ukrainian conflict prevented it from flying to European Union and US destinations. The administrator has faced difficulties accessing company information and accounts as banks and suppliers had been mindful of the sanctions facing the company.
During April, HLPFI’s sister publication Air Cargo News, reported that the former head of Antonov had been charged with alleged “negligence” following the destruction of the Antonov AN-225 Mriya aircraft, with claims that the general director did not take appropriate action to ensure the aircraft was safely transported out of the country.
Elsewhere in the heavy lift airfreight segment though, players have stepped up to fill the void. Airbus rolled out the sixth and final BelugaXL freighter aircraft – designed to fly structures between the airframer’s manufacturing facilities – that will replace the older A300-600ST Beluga fleet, which will eventually be the basis of the company’s commercial airline Airbus Beluga Transport. During September, Airbus Beluga Transport said it hoped to have its own Aircraft Operator Certificate (AOC) in October.
In April, a new all-cargo airline took to the skies: One Air. Starting operations with one B747F, with plans to expand its fleet to two of the aircraft, the airline completed its inaugural operation in July, operating a full charter for Shandong Glory from China to the UK.
Bolloré Logistics, meanwhile, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with airship developer Flying Whales to support the use of its LCA60T airship for heavy cargo transportation weighing up to 60 tonnes. The maiden flight is planned for the end of 2025.
And, towards the end of the year, a familiar face in the heavy lift airfreight industry, Paul Bingley, was brought into Dubai-based aviation services provider Air Charter International’s fold to strengthen and refocus its cargo services, with a particular focus on supporting those in the project forwarding sector.
Overall, 2023 can be seen as a starting point for a shifting heavy lift-capable airfreight fleet. Boeing confirmed in the latter half of the year, that nose-loading capabilities will not be a feature of its future widebody freighter models, citing little demand. Speaking at the TIACA World Cargo Symposium in November, Boeing regional director of marketing Tom Hoang said that during its customer working groups, demand for nose-loading capabilities was not high on the list of requirements, noting that “it’s a relatively small market for outsize cargo that really requires the nose loader”.
With no new nose-loaders coming from Boeing, he pointed out that there is still plenty of aircraft with those capabilities in the market – enough to satisfy demand over the coming years; approximately 140 nose-loading B747-400s are still in service, with an average age of 20 years. These aircraft would be around for the next 10 years, Hoang explained. Meanwhile, the manufacturer delivered just over 105 nose-loading B747-8Fs with an average age of seven years. These would be in the market for a further 20 years.
That timeline would suggest that in 20 years’ time, we could be looking at a very different market. The early developments of large airships that we are seeing now could be a more prominent feature of HLPFI’s review of the year come 2043.
