Page 27 - AAA NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2013 Online Magazine

FEATURE AIR FREIGHT

Cargo Goes Up, East A330-200F takes off
LEFT: MAS-cargo’s
RIGHT: David Prevor, Head of
Market Research at Airbus
according to airbus, the current doldrums afflicting the freight industry
will pass, and the world will see an ever-increasing number of freighters
taking off. and the majority will be zooming over asia. By Jeremy Torr

ACCORDING TO DAVID PREVOR, HEAD “Large 100-tonne freighters are “Over the next 20 years, we will see
of market research at Airbus, things are just too costly to fill and run on shorter a 4.8% overall growth in airfreighter
looking good for the makers of freight routes, and passenger aircraft belly cargo numbers, with a total of 2730 aircraft,”
aircraft, long term. And while there is no isn’t a realistic option given the majority he asserts. That would include 871 new
doubt Boeing with the ubiquitous 747F of cargo transport demand is at night aircraft, as well as over 2700 conversions
have the market pretty well sewn up – when airports have to keep to noise from existing passenger jets. With a total
currently, the Europeans have their eyes restrictions and cap flights,” he notes. “As market value of some US$234 billion,
on the prize in the same way they did with the airfreight industry changes shape, we that’s a healthy forecast for anybody in
passenger jets. will all need to adapt,” he says. the business.
“The world needs air cargo,” says So Airbus, digging deep into the “We realise the importance of the
Prevor. “Even though it is only around 1% of figures and cranking the statistical freight market,” adds Prevor. “We
weight, the value of air cargo is something forecast handle, have come up with a are being opportunistic about this
around 33% of all freight value – companies projection that sees an increase in takeup (sector). We will still concentrate on
send high value, time-critical goods by of A330 and possibly A350F variants. And the passenger sector, but will definitely
air – and in fact many industries could not plenty of them; up to 45% of total freighter go on to fight the Boeing dominance in
survive without air cargo getting goods numbers, with the Asia-Pacific freighter cargo aircraft,” he asserts.
to market quickly.” He gives examples of fleet more than tripling.
flowers from Africa being flown to Europe,
mobile phones from China to the US, and
fruit and vegetables – such as asparagus,
mangos and berries – from Peru to local and
international markets.
But Prevor emphasises that the issues
currently crimping air cargo figures –
large load-factor aircraft with poor fuel
efficiency – will have to change in the near
future as mid-size jets come onstream as
much more efficient pure cargo carriers
in their own right. “That old ‘large size fits
all’ model no longer works,” he says.
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