What would you answer if I ask you the following question: Who is the most important passenger on a flight? Most of the people should say that a human passenger of course. But most of the people (perhaps) don’t know that most of the flights, mostly long-haul that is, are only profitable due to the cargo in which planes are carrying, deep beneath the cabin.
Without those tonnes of cargo, airlines would only receive the ticket reimbursement of paying passengers. This amount of money is not enough to pay all costs for a flight or even make a small profit. Using the cargo and baggage holds of aircraft provides airlines an additional source of income, boosting profits, and in turn, making airfares cheaper whilst making the service better for the humans on board.
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, the national carrier of the Netherlands, has stated in its Annual Report of 2019 that its current route network is only profitable to operate due to the combination of the carrying passengers and cargo at the same flight. Without carrying cargo on flights, the airline is not able to operate those flights without any losses.
The same airline used the Boeing 747-400COMBI for more than 2 decades; boosting cargo capacity whilst still retaining a smaller passenger cabin. The aircraft type was designed to carry passengers and large pieces of cargo at the same time. While the aircraft holds around 250 passengers at the front of the cabin, the rear of the main deck is filled with cargo, specifically larger payloads due to the inclusion of a full-sized cargo door, found on other freighter aircraft such as the DC-10 and MD-11. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the airline has phased-out its remaining Boeing 747-400 fleet, including their Boeing 747-400COMBI aircraft, however excluding its four Boeing 747-400 Freighters.
Phasing out the Boeing 747-400COMBI doesn’t mean that the airline is not able to carry passengers and cargo at the same time. Modern aircraft such as the Airbus A330, A350, and A380 as well as the Boeing 747, Boeing 777, and Boeing 787 Dreamliners are designed to be able to carry a smaller amount of cargo below the passenger’s cabins when compared to the COMBI. The use of freight pallets means that only smaller payloads can be included onboard. Using those aircraft types provides airlines with many opportunities to operates a large route network to multiple destinations across the […]