TL7201 International Air Cargo

Lesson 2
The Evolution of Air Cargo

Author Nahed Bahman – BILM

Content Overview
• Rise of Aviation
• Accelerated Development of Aviation
• How World Events Affect Aviation
• Early Days of Air Cargo
• Emergence of International Organizations
• Chicago Convention
• Air Traffic Rights
Content Overview
• Bilateral Systems and Air Service Agreements
• Technological Advances in Aircraft Design
• Air Cargo Handling and Military Cargo
First Flights
• The first flight was by a twenty-five year old
New Zealander, Richard Pearse on March 31,
1902
• Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk in North Carolina
on 17th December 1903
• 1908 – First commercial passenger flight began
• 1910 – First cargo flight took off from Dayton to
Columbus in Ohio, USA
How Did Aviation Develop
• Many British civil servants deployed in India
• Letter writing was the only way to keep in
touch with relatives
• They welcomed delivery speed
• 1911 - First cargo was mail route was Allahabad
to Naini
• 6,500 letters and postcards were flown at a
surcharge of 6 times the normal postal rates
How Did Aviation Develop
• At first aviation was regarded as a new sport
• Flying machines became more manoeuvrable
and dependable
• Preoccupation with speed, distances, and
altitude, soon included the payload factor –
how much weight could be uplifted and
thereby how many passengers or freight might
be transported
Group Discussion
What happened in the early 1900s that had a
direct effect on aviation?

• Get in groups of 3-4 students

• Find online what is that world event
• Why did that event change the aviation sector
and how?
World War I (1914-1918)
• Wars in general accelerate development
• Aircraft used for dropping propaganda leaflets
• Also used for dropping small bombs
• Engine technology accelerated
• Production techniques improved to supply,
quickly, the number of aircraft needed
Post World War I
• The war damaged roads, bridges, and transport
infrastructure
• Surplus ex-war aircraft (and pilots) used for
communications and for delivering aid
• Some bombers modified for cargo and mail
• Only about 800-1000kg payload
• Up to about eight hours flying range

However…
Post World War I
• They were slow machines lacking in speed
• Engines were very unreliable and airframes required
frequent preventative maintenance.
• Surviving ex pilots had acquired skills that could be
put to good use and they were enthusiastic in their
desire to keep on flying
• Airborne postal operations had been proven as
technically feasible but lacking in reliability.
The Beginning of Freight (1935)
The Beginning of Freight (1935)
• The Fairchild XC-31 was an experimental cargo
aircraft built for the U.S. Army Air Corps.
• Payload around 1,000 kg
• Range 1200 km
• 1 pilot
• 15 passengers
Early Items of Commercial Cargo
• A typical load:
• 80,000 newspapers,
• 20,000 periodical journals
• 600 assorted parcels,
• 1,200 bags of letters,
• 50,000 telegrams

What feature is common to all of this cargo?

Early Items of Commercial Cargo

Newspapers Information is fresh

Journals. High quality information. In
Periodicals depth information about current affairs
Parcels Urgently needed items (critical freight)
Letters Fast delivery of good and bad news
Telegrams Fast delivery of good and bad news
High quality, time sensitive information
Could this aircraft fly from London to Abu
Dhabi?

Fairchild XC-31
Group Exercise
• How many stops?
• Where would these stops be?
• How long would it take?
• What communications would be needed?
• You have 20 minutes for this exercise
• Use your calculators
Aircraft Comparison (1935-2011)

Aircraft Type Weight Carried Flight Range

Fairchild XC-31 1000 kg 1200 km

Boeing 747-400F 110,000 kg 8150 km

Boeing 747-400ERF 120,000 kg 9129 km

Boeing 747-8F 134,000 kg 8275 km

World War II (1939-1945)
• Was the next critical event that had a major
impact on aviation and air cargo
• Significant leaps in technology allowed for
bigger, faster, and more reliable aircraft with
greater range
• New navigational and detection technologies
were developed such as radar
• The jet engine (the mainstay of modern aircraft)
was invented, perfected, and put into production
Impact of World War II
• Disruptive to civilian airlines – connections
severed
• Use of indirect delivery routes (around hostile
nations)
• Costs went up hugely
• Volumes dropped
• Services via Lisbon – neutral territory
• Mail sent by ‘film’ to cut down bulk
Critical Freight
• The war created the need for airfreight
• Supply drops behind enemy lines
• Personnel to and from war
• Being a global war, distances were much
greater than in the past
• Information from the development of radar
became critical
Impact of World War II on Aviation
• Many innovations, and testing of innovation
• Speed increased
• Range increased
• Payload increased
• Reliability increased
• Night operations possible
• Specialized aircraft
• Development of the jet engine
What Happened After World War II?
• Versatility and travel
options created desire
to travel
• War demonstrated the capacity of aircraft:
• People
• Bombs
• Military material
Peacetime Operation
• America hadn’t suffered infrastructure damage
• European economies and infrastructure were
severely affected and in the case on Germany,
virtually destroyed, because of the war,
however:
• Lots of airstrips and support facilities
• Military aircraft converted to civilian use
• Pilots eager to keep flying
International Organizations
International Organizations
• Emergence of international organizations to
oversee air transport
• Main issue was sovereign right to control airspace
• Security from attack
• Comparative advantage in commercial aviation
• Need to organize and control the new medium of
air transport gave rise to:
• International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO)
• International Air Transport Association (IATA)
Airspace in the Region
International Civil Aviation Organization
• Abbreviated ICAO
• Part of the United Nations Organization
• Body for sovereign nations to find agreement
on standards and safety issues
• Ensures the safe and orderly growth of
international civil aviation
International Air Transport Association
• Abbreviated IATA
• Accepts any airline as a member if the airlines
accepts the organization’s rules
• Works closely with ICAO but from the
perspective of airlines
• Acts as a price fixing body
• Formulates industry policy and standards
IATA Air Cargo Tariff & Rules (TACT)
• TACT lays down rules and regulations for air cargo
handling
• TACT sets rates and tariffs
• TACT Net Rates distribution system connects airlines
and freight forwarders, privately and securely
• Commission levels to agents (passenger/cargo)
• CASS, short for Cargo Account Settlement System, is
a clearing house that settles payments between
airlines and freight forwarders
The Chicago Convention 1940
• Established the ICAO
• Set the rules for airspace, aircraft registration,
and safety
• The two-way help was the essence of the
agreements between states:
I help you You help me
• States, not airlines, trade traffic rights or what
is known as freedoms
First freedom The right of an airline of one country to fly over the
(over-flight) territory of another country without landing.

The right of an airline of one country to land in

Second freedom another country for non-traffic purposes, such as
(technical stop) refuelling or maintenance, while enroute to another
country.

Third freedom The right of an airline of one country to carry traffic

(to) (passengers, cargo or mail) from its country to
another country.
Fourth freedom The right of an airline of one country to carry traffic
(from) from another country to its own country.

Fifth freedom The right of an airline of one country to carry traffic

(intermediate and between two other countries providing the flight
beyond) originates or terminates in its own country.
Aviation Politics
• Based on two-way benefit between the states
• EU & APEC developed plurilateral agreements
• In such agreements, the applicability or
eligibility of airlines is premised on their
principal place of business
• Where the airline is BASED rather than on the
state that owns and controls it
Airline Ownership
• Some states and airlines are very protective
over price
• They avoid more liberal and competitive
policies
• Resistance to foreign interests obtaining
shareholding in their airline
• Fear of dependency in a strategically significant
mode of transport (air)
• Pressure for mergers due to airline failures and
massive financial losses
Working Under Bilateral Agreements
• Criticism of bilateral systems:
• Artificially controls capacities, frequencies, fares, and
routes
• Counter to the principles of comparative advantage
which underlies free trade
• Airlines came together in joint global airline
alliances to gain network penetration
• Loyalty programmes to keep customers in
alliance
• Charter flights used to test out new routes
• Code sharing
European Union (EU) “Single Air” Market
• Includes domestic services (cabotage) rights
• Country to country travel
• An ASA with one member state applies to all
member states
• A counterbalance to the dominance of the USA
• Objective is to allow more competitive markets
to operate
USA and Canada “Open Skies” Market
• Created the single largest bilateral air market in
the world
• Provided carriers with unlimited 'transborder'
freedoms
• Determine capacity and schedules, and to set
prices
• The ability to set prices by country of origin has
been a very significant lever to unshackle the
old regulated setting of fares and freight rates
Surge in Aircraft Design
• After war, new aircraft designs came out,
tailored to long-haul transport
• New “turbo prop” aircraft were introduced
such as the DC3, Fokker Friendship, and HS748
• Short haul flights
Surge in Aircraft Design
• For long haul flights, cross Atlantic flights, new
jets were introduced
• Examples include the DC8, B707, and VC10
• New aircraft designs included large cargo space
in belly holds, and pure freighter versions
Military Aircraft Design
• Designed for heavy payload and versatility
• Able to operate on short, rough airstrips
• Delivery via parachute
• Airborne fuel tankers
Heavy Lift Helicopters
• Ability to hover means no need for landing
sites
• For access to difficult places
• Mountain rescue
• Relief in remote areas
• Forestry
• Military use
• Moving personnel and equipment into positions
not accessible by other means
Wide Bodied Aircraft
• Jumbo Jet, the B747 was introduced in 1974
• Offered large volume of space for belly cargo
• Also as a pure freighter
• Older planes like this can be converted to
freighters
• Airbus A380 has even more cargo space, and
can fly half way around the world
Conclusion
• Examined the emergence of international air
cargo operations over the past 100 years
• Role and importance of international
organizations
• Factors that boosted the introduction of air
cargo
• Air cargo is a very effective and modern way of
moving cargo quickly, over long distances