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Challenge Group adds new US-Europe-India freighter operation

The Challenge Group is adding a new widebody freighter service connecting India, Belgium and the US. The service will utilise a Boeing 777 freighter and operate on a loop of Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMI), Liège Airport (LGG) and Chicago Rockford (RFD). The twice-weekly service will start on 4 November and follows the group's decision to temporarily suspend freighter operations at the Indian airport due to operational challenges. Challenge added that in Liege, it can offer a network of approximately 1,500 truck movements per month for onward access across Europe. The service will primarily cater for pharmaceuticals, oversized and out-of-gauge cargo, with plans to introduce live animal (AVI) transportation in the future. "Chicago is a strategically important market, serving a broad range of industries that depend on reliable international cargo connectivity," said Or Zak, group chief commercial officer, Challenge Group. "By introducing this service through Rockford, we are creating additional opportunities for customers moving specialised cargo between India, Europe and the US." The new service also supports RFD's ongoing efforts to expand its international freighter network and establish the airport as a gateway for specialised cargo entering the country, Challenge said. "This new service is a direct result of our continued efforts to attract international freighter operators to Rockford, particularly the work we have undertaken to establish the airport as a leading cold chain corridor into the United States," said Zack Oakley, executive director, RFD. "We see significant potential to grow this partnership beyond the initial twice-weekly service, including increasing flight frequencies and supporting AVI transport." The airport pointed out that RFD is located within approximately 40 miles of animal quarantine facilities, at a comparable distance to Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD), and is in the process of securing approval from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to support AVI shipments. "RFD is well positioned to support this service as it develops, with cargo-focused infrastructure and the capacity to accommodate specialised freight," said Rene Espinet, vice president - cargo business development, RFD. "Challenge will have access to the wider Chicago market, combined with the efficiency, flexibility, and reduced congestion of a dedicated freighter airport." RFD is also coordinating dedicated temperature-controlled trucking capacity, providing onward transportation to destinations in the Rockford area and warehousing facilities in Chicago. The announcement was made during the TIACA Air Cargo Forum.

Boeing predicts freighter fleet will exceed 4,000 aircraft in 2045

Boeing is expecting the world's freighter fleet to exceed 4,000 aircraft by 2045, up on Airbus' prediction released last week. At the TIACA Air Cargo Forum taking place this week, Boeing said it expects freighter fleet requirements to be driven by a 3.5% average annual increase in air cargo demand. This compares with an average annual growth rate of 2.5% over the past 10 years. The extra annual growth will be fueled by time-sensitive shipments for advanced manufacturing and AI hardware, diversifying supply chains and rising e-commerce volumes as carriers adapt route networks to shifting trade lanes and manage geopolitical disruptions, the aircraft manufacturer said. Last year, cargo demand was up by more than 5%, Boeing pointed out. As a result, Boeing's World Air Cargo Forecast suggests the worldwide freighter fleet will increase 67% by 2045 from 2,395 in 2025 to 4,010 in 20 years' time. "Dedicated freighters are expected to carry more than half of global air cargo traffic in the long term," Boeing said. This means a total of 2,930 new and converted freighters over the next 20 years to support traffic growth and replace retiring aircraft. About 55% of deliveries will add capacity; approximately 45% will replace older, less efficient freighters. Two-thirds of deliveries will be converted passenger aeroplanes (2,000) and the remainder will be new-production freighters (930). Standard body freighters will make up 1,140 of the freighters delivered, medium-widebody is next with 915 and large widebody will make up 875 of the extra cargo aircraft. "Air cargo's adaptability and speed are strategic advantages enabling reliable transport, dynamic rerouting and critical support for evolving supply chains," said Darren Hulst, Boeing vice president of commercial marketing. "As global trade patterns change and demand for time-sensitive, high-value goods grows, dedicated freighters will remain essential to global commerce." Boeing added that it expects integrators to increase their market share over the coming 20 years from 16% to 24% as a result of growing demand for express services. Airbus comparison The size of the future freighter fleet predicted by Boeing is larger than what Airbus expects. Last week, Airbus said it expects the worldwide fleet of dedicated freighter aircraft to increase by 46% from 2,360 in 2026 to 3,460 aircraft by 2045. Airbus said there will be a requirement for 2,670 freighters, with 1,580 aircraft replacing scrapped older freighters and 1,090 required to meet demand growth. Of the 2,670 freighters required, 1,140 will be single-aisle, 860 mid-size widebodies, and 670 large widebody aircraft. Some 970 aircraft will be new-build and 1,700 will be converted from passenger aircraft. Airbus expects cargo demand to grow by around 3.2% per year over the next 20 years.

IATA: Air cargo demand up more than 7% in September

Air cargo demand continued its strong growth levels in September, with IATA registering a 7.7% increase in cargo tonne kms (CTK) compared with a year earlier. The increase in demand outstripped a 2.7% increase in capacity in available CTK terms and resulted in the cargo load factor improving by 2.2 percentage points on last year to 47.9%. IATA said that the demand increase was again fuelled by AI shipments being moved across the Pacific but also warned that airlines were facing rising costs. Marie Owens Thomsen, IATA's senior vice president for sustainability and chief economist, said: "Air cargo demand rose 7.7% year on year in September, with growth across all regions. "Stronger global trade and manufacturing provided a supportive backdrop, while AI-related shipments helped drive another month of double-digit growth across the Pacific. "The challenge is cost. Jet fuel prices have more than doubled compared with a year ago, and yields have not kept pace. "There is no shortage of goods to ship, but doing that profitably in the face of persistently high fuel prices has become more challenging." Jet fuel prices rose by 17.5% month on month in September and were 103.4% higher than a year earlier, IATA said. Trade lane performance Looking at trade lane performance, it was no surprise to see the strongest growth came on the Asia-North America trade, which was up 17% compared with a year ago and has now recorded eight consecutive months of growth. Next up was Europe-North America, which improved by 9.3% on last year and has now registered five consecutive months of growth. Elsewhere, within Asia improved by 10.2%, Asia-Europe was up 6% and Africa-Asia increased by 2.6%. In contrast, Europe-Middle East was down 18% and Middle East-Asia slipped 10.2% as a result of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East region. Airline performance followed suit, with Asia Pacific-based carriers registering an 8.6% increase in demand, North American airlines were up 11.8%, European airlines improved by 4.5%, Middle East-based carriers benefitted from a 3.8% increase in demand, Latin American airlines were up 6.7% and there was a 4.7% improvement for African airlines.