8/25/2016 AircargoWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Aircargo
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Aircargoisanypropertycarriedortobecarriedinanaircraft.Aircargo
comprisesairfreight,airexpressandairmail.[1]

Contents
1 Aircrafttypes
2 History
2.1 Earlyyears
2.2 Postwaryears VolgaDneprAn124readyfor
2.3 Modernaircargo loading.
3 References

Aircrafttypes
Cargocanbetransportedbypassenger,cargoorcombiaircraft:

Passengeraircraftusethesparevolumeintheairplane'sbaggagehold(the"belly")thatisnotbeingusedfor
passengerluggageacommonpracticeusedbypassengerairlines,whoadditionallytransportcargoon
scheduledpassengerflights.thispracticeisknownasBellyCargo.Cargocanalsobetransportedinthe
passengercabinashandcarrybyanonboardcourier.
Cargoaircraftarededicatedforthejobtheycarryfreightonthemaindeckandinthebellybymeansof
noseloadingorsideloading.
Combiaircraftcarriescargoonthemaindeckbehindthepassengersareawithsideloadingandinthebelly.

History
Earlyyears

Thefirstcargoflighttookplaceonthe7November1910intheUSA,
betweenDaytonandColumbus,Ohio.PhilipOrinParmeleepiloteda
WrightModelBaeroplane65miles(105km)carryingapackageof200
poundsofsilkfortheopeningofastore.Newspaperclippingsquotedthe
Wrightbrothersasstatinghecoveredthedistancein66minutes,butthe
flightwasofficiallyrecordedat57minutes,aworldspeedrecordatthe
time.Itwasthefirstcargoonlyflightsolelyforthetransportofgoods
thefirstflightcommissionedbyaclient,andthefirstexampleof
multimodalairtransport,sincethepiecesofsilkweretransportedbycar Loadingairmail,late1930s,Detroit.
fromColumbusaerodrometothestore.

Theworld'sfirstofficialairmailflighttookplaceon18February1911,atalargeexhibitionintheUnited
ProvincesofAgraandOudh,BritishIndia.Theorganizeroftheaviationdisplay,SirWalterWindham,wasableto
securepermissionfromthepostmastergeneralinIndiatooperateanairmailserviceinordertogeneratepublicity
fortheexhibitionandtoraisemoneyforcharity.ThisfirstairmailflightwaspilotedbyHenriPequet,whoflew
6,500lettersadistanceof13km(8.1mi),fromAllahabadtoNainitheneareststationontheBombayCalcutta
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linetotheexhibition.TheaircraftusedwasaHumberSommerbiplanewithaboutfiftyhorsepower(37kW),and
itmadethejourneyinthirteenminutes.Theworld'sfirstscheduledairmailpostservicetookplaceintheUnited
KingdombetweentheLondonsuburbofHendon,andthePostmasterGeneral'sofficeinWindsor,Berkshire,on
September9,1911.ItwaspartofthecelebrationsforKingGeorgeV'scoronationandatthesuggestionofSir
WalterWindham,whobasedhisproposalonthesuccessfulexperimenthehadoverseeninIndia.Theserviceran
forjustunderamonth,transporting35bagsofmailin16flights.

Intheearly20s,aircargodevelopedrapidlybecausenumerousentrepreneursrealizedaircraftcouldmovehigh
valueandlowvolumeconsignmentsmuchfasterthantherailroadsandshippingcompanies.Thefirstscheduled
flightfromLondontoParisin1919hadonlyonepassengerbutcarriedleatherforashoemanufacturerandgrouse
forarestaurant.Cinemafilmswerealsoafrequentconsignment:originalnewsbulletinswerefirstcarriedtoa
centrallaboratorytomakecopies,andthendistributedbyairthroughoutEuropefortheirreleaseincinemas.

Postwaryears

Althoughtherewereafewattemptstoorganizeairfreightairlinesfromthe1920son,thefirstcommercialairlines
thatwereallcargodidnotemergeuntilafterWorldWarII.In1945,ataconferenceinHavana,57airlinesformed
theInternationalAirTransportAssociation.

In1948BerlinwasjointlycontrolledbytheAlliesandRussians,althoughtheRussiansheldtheareasurrounding
thecityandthuslandaccess.Asthisaccesswasclosed,inthesocalledBerlinblockade,anairliftremainedthe
onlyoptiontogetincreasinglyurgentdeliveriesoffood,coal,andothersuppliestoWestBerlin.Over330daysto
12May1949atotalof2.26milliontonsofcargowereairliftedtoBerlin,anaverageof6,800tonsaday,80%by
theUSand20%bytheUK.[2]

Althoughfreighttrafficdevelopedmodestly,reachingonly800,000tonnesworldwidebythemid1950s,theworld
economywashittingitspostwarstride.GermanyandJapanwereemergingfromtheirperiodofpurgatoryand
werepoisedtotaketheworldofbusinessbystorm,theUnitedStateswasapproachingtheheightofitseconomic
dominance,andWesternEuropehadrecoveredfromthewar.In1968,Boeinglaunchedthefourengine747,the
firstwidebodyaircraft.The747wasthefirstaircraftcapableoftransportingfullpalletsinthecargohold,
revolutionizingtheaircargoindustry.

Modernaircargo

Despitewidespreadhopesforavibrantindustry,fordecadestheairfreight
didnotgrowasexpectedandremainedaverysmallpartoftotalairtraffic.
Formuchofthefirstfivepostwardecadesmostcarrierssawitasa
secondaryactivity,althoughtherehadalwaysbeenspecializedcargo
airlines.Somepassengerairlineshavefoundthepracticeofcarrying"belly
cargo"ahighlylucrativeenterprise(infact,itisestimatedthat50%ofall
airfreightismovedinthisway),tothepointwhereithaslessenedthe
demandfordedicatedlargecargoaircraft.[3]
FedExMcDonnellDouglas:MD11F
Cargoemergedasasolidpillaroftheindustryin1990s.Thecatalystsfor
therenewedgrowthinthesectorweretheexpressparcelcarriers,typified
byFedEx,DHL,TNTandUPS,andchangesinpracticesinthemanufacturingsector.In1992,FedExsent
softwareoncomputerdiskstothousandsofcustomers,allowingthemtotrackshipmentsfromtheirown
workstations.

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AnATRANAntonovAn12still
operationalafter47years(2011)
shipmentandincreasingthesecurityandsafetyofthetransportation.
Theriseofinternetduringinthe
yearsthatfollowedcontributedto
increasethereliabilityand
accessibilitytotheaircargo
industry.Mostairlinesnowofferto
theircustomersrealtimeflight
statusandthebookingandtracking
options.Inaddition,theindustryis
adoptingelectronicprocedures,[4] EmiratesBoeing777Ffreighter
suchastheelectronicairwaybill,to arrivesLondonHeathrowAirport
reducetheamountofpaper (2015)
documentationaccompanyingeach

Anindustryexpertestimatesthat1520tonnesofaircargoisworth3040economypassengerseats,whenbothare
onpassengerplanes.[5]

However,withtheexceptionoftheintegrators(FedEx,UPS,DHLandTNT)theaircargoindustrycontinuesto
sufferasthebyproduct'poorrelation'ofthepassengerbusiness.

References
1.Allaz,Camille(2005):TheHistoryofAirCargoandAirmailfromthe18th
Century,p.8 WikimediaCommonshas
2.Morrell,PeterS.(2011):MovingBoxesbyAir.TheEconomicsof mediarelatedtoAircargo.
InternationalAirCargo
3.Johnsson,Julie."BigBellyBoeing777BluntsDemandforCargoOnlyJets".Bloomberg.Retrieved27June2014.
4.IATA.CargoXMLStandards:Modernizingaircargocommunication(http://www.iata.org/whatwedo/cargo/e/Pages/cargo
xml.aspx).
5."AbarriertoA380salesintheUnitedStates(http://www.runwaygirlnetwork.com/2014/07/03/abarriertoa380salesint
heunitedstates/)"RunwayGirl,3July2014.Accessed:20July2014.

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