The decision represents the latest case of an all-cargo airline throttling back on fleet expansion plans made during the COVID-19 crisis when a shortfall in shipping capacity sent rates through the roof and made freighters valuable assets.

Northern Air Cargo, which serves communities in Alaska from its base in Anchorage, lost $12 million in the 12 months ended September 30, according to data on airline performance metrics compiled by the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

The idled cargo jets wear the brands of sister companies Aloha Air Cargo and Miami-based StratAir. Northern Air Cargo operates planes on behalf of both businesses.

The three companies are part of privately held Saltchuk Resources, a diversified freight transportation, logistics and energy distribution conglomerate based in Seattle. In 2021 and 2022, Saltchuk’s leasing subsidiary bought seven used Boeing 767-300 passenger jets and has been sending them to a Boeing partner site in Singapore to modify into main-deck freighters for the cargo airlines.

NAS Aircraft Leasing Co. (NALC) received two 767-300 converted freighters from Boeing in January and April and moved them to a storage facility until market conditions improve, Saltchuk Aviation spokeswoman April Spurlock said in an email.

Aircraft tracking site Flightradar24 shows the airplanes are being stored in the desert at Roswell Air Center in New Mexico.

“Throughout 2023 and 2024, the global air cargo market has experienced elevated costs and shifting market dynamics which has led to depressed pricing and cargo yields,” Spurlock said. “Due to this softening of the cargo market, Northern Air Cargo has taken steps to reduce its overhead costs and increase its revenues.”

The two new cargo jets will eventually replace aircraft the company will return in the near future when their lease ends. NALC currently leases three 767s from Air Transport Services Group (NASDAQ: ATSG), according to aviation analytics firm Cirium. A decision on when to place the new 767s into service will depend on several factors, including market conditions in the Caribbean and in Central and South America, where StratAir operates, she added.

StratAir is an airfreight logistics provider that charters airlift from NAC. It currently utilizes four 767 freighters operated by NAC.

Northern Air Cargo and Aloha Air Cargo operate a total of 16 aircraft: nine Boeing 737-300/400 Classics, a newer 737-800 and six 767-300 medium widebodies. All 767s are on NAC’s operating certificate and flown by NAC pilots. Saltchuk Aviation swaps aircraft among carriers as needed. One of the 767s flown by NAC for StratAir out of Miami to places such as San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Lima, Peru, for example, has an Aloha Air Cargo livery.

Aloha Air Cargo, which had a profit of $30 million in the fiscal year that ended September 30, operates interisland routes in Hawaii and to Seattle and Los Angeles. On a combined basis, Aloha and NAC posted $18 million in net income for fiscal 2023.

NALC has taken delivery of six converted freighters so far. It has not started work on the seventh Boeing conversion yet, and there is no firm date to do so, said Spurlock.

There are costs to keep an airline dormant, such as storage, regular maintenance to ensure electrical and hydraulic systems don’t deteriorate, and special maintenance service when a plane is reactivated. But industry professionals say it is cheaper to ground an aircraft than operate it if load factors are low.

NAC also laid off three administrative personnel as part of its effort to reduce costs, said Spurlock.

The airfreight market has been steadily recovering since a 16-month downturn hit bottom late last summer. During the first quarter, cargo volumes increased about 12 percent year over year, based on the average metric from various data providers. Industry analysts expect annual growth of about 3.5 percent over 2023 levels. But cargo growth varies by region, with major trade lanes out of Asia boosting the global average. North America, for example, had the weakest growth in February of any region, according to the International Air Transport Association. Also, Northern Air Cargo, Aloha Air Cargo, and StratAir play in specialized markets that are subject to their own unique dynamics.

Saltchuk Aviation and Northern Air Cargo aren’t alone in feeling the consequences of the freight recession in 2022-2023.

Miami-based Amerijet, which competes with StratAir, recently went through a restructuring with new ownership and returned six Boeing 757 converted freighters to lessors less than two years after acquiring them. FedEx Express is parking a portion of its fleet because of soft parcel demand. Canada’s Cargojet abandoned plans to acquire eight Boeing 777s and convert them for cargo. Air Canada backed out of a deal with Boeing for two 777 factory freighters. GlobalX, a startup charter operation in Miami, is concentrating fleet expansion on the passenger side of the business, rather than cargo. And Air Transport Services Group has sharply cut back on capital expenditures and postponed sending some aircraft to conversion sites.

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared on FreightWaves.

The post Cargo Airline Sends New Boeing 767 Freighters Directly to Storage appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

An additional 200 to 300 pilots could become redundant late this year if the company, as expected, loses a large chunk of work for the U.S. Postal Service, a senior executive recently told a group of airline employees.

The attempt to shed pilots, who have already absorbed a steep decline in pay, comes as collective bargaining resumes for a new contract.

Management is likely to invoke contract clauses that would allow it to go below the minimum guarantee of 68 flight hours per month when available flying time falls below certain thresholds, said Pat DiMento, FedEx’s vice president of flight operations and training, in a secretly recorded meeting with pilot evaluators that was shared with FreightWaves. Pilots get credit for the minimum number of hours regardless of how many hours are actually flown.

FedEx Express, the largest cargo airline in the world, has essentially been able to pay the equivalent of 200 fewer pilots since the summer by limiting distribution of flight schedules, effectively reducing the current surplus of employees, he said. 

FedEx expects 350 to 450 pilots to accept early-retirement incentives when a deal on a new labor contract is reached, which would allow the company to maintain current minimum credit hours and flight schedules, said DiMento.

In the absence of a tentative contract, the airline would need to reduce the crew list by 200 individuals any way possible to prevent further cuts to pay guarantees. Achieving that figure — through retirement, resignation, leave of absence or offers from competitors — would save the company $50 million per year.

Average daily parcel volume for FedEx Express declined 2 percent and global average daily freight pounds fell 18 percent year over year in the quarter ended Nov. 30. Express volumes were down more than 10 percent for three consecutive quarters through last February and then shrank at single-digit levels for the remainder of 2023. 

FedEx planners are already noticing a decline in January volumes and removing flight hours they previously expected to operate, the flight operations chief recently told the quality control pilots. It was a friendly audience because they are quasi-supervisors that sit between line pilots and management. 

“Unless we get a new contract, it’s [pilot pay] not going to magically fix itself because I don’t see the economy turning around,” DiMento said.

Addressing Labor Pressure In Down Market

Investors were disappointed that major operational savings at FedEx were unable to fully offset lower revenue during the second quarter. Express faces higher labor costs if pilots secure a contract upgrade and newly mobilized mechanics are able to form a union.

Both outcomes are far from certain. 

Workers at Amazon fulfillment centers, Starbucks locations, and other businesses have voted in recent years, for varying reasons, against joining a union. And pilots had more leverage a year ago when major passenger airlines scrambled to refill positions after the pandemic as travel demand spiked. Delta Air Lines plans to hire half as many pilots this year as it did in 2022 and 2023 because the pilot shortage has eased, according to Aero Crew News.

Meanwhile, FedEx is now downsizing internal fleet operations to eliminate excess capacity and is looking to shed pilots amid diminishing parcel volumes.

FedEx cockpit crews, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), in July rejected a tentative contract worth $3.8 billion that would have increased pay by 30 percent over 4.5 years and are back at the bargaining table.

The last round of negotiations, mediated by the federal National Mediation Board, took place Dec. 12-15, and the sides are scheduled to meet again Thursday and Friday. Two more bargaining sessions are set for January.

A majority of FedEx pilots were displeased with the agreement’s level of job protections, back pay, pension options, and quality-of-life considerations and the fact that pay increases were below those achieved by passenger-airline counterparts. Pilots at Southwest Airlines, for example, are considering whether to accept a new contract that would raise pilot pay 50 percent over five years.

After FedEx announced it is accelerating a $1 billion share buyback, ALPA last week said the company should also invest in cockpit crews to provide stability for long-term growth. The union argues pilots deserve to be compensated for the sacrifices and risks taken so the company could earn record profits during the COVID crisis.

Deep division within the pilot group could hamper chances for a quick deal. A slim majority voted to kill the tentative contract, and some wanted to recall the negotiating committee. Those pilots are upset with ALPA for being too accommodating toward FedEx, including in a 2015 contract they say eroded schedule flexibility and other quality-of-life issues. 

Many union members have lost faith in the ability of Capt. Pat May, the chairman of ALPA’s FedEx negotiating committee, to deliver a favorable labor agreement, especially after he did not resign, as promised, when the tentative deal went down last summer, a pilot told FreightWaves. The source asked not to be identified so as not to jeopardize his job or union relationship.  

Pilots over the years left carriers such as American, Delta, United, and Southwest for what they believed were better jobs at FedEx.

“Our work rules are well below our passenger peers. Pay and compensation is starting to lag and stagnant. We fly horrendous schedules which affect our health,” the pilot said. “This entire situation may have killed the best airline job in America.”

Hourly pay scales vary by type of aircraft flown and seniority. A widebody (MD-11 or Boeing 777) captain at FedEx makes $277 in the first year and $326.50 with 12 years on the job, according to data compiled by the Air Line Pilots Association. That compares to $345 per hour in year one at Hawaiian Airlines, a new entrant in the freighter space, to fly the Airbus A330. After a dozen years at Hawaiian, a freighter captain can make $376 per hour. Pilots at UPS make $344 per hour, after an initial probation year, and $366 by year 12.

A veteran FedEx captain pulling a typical 80 to 90 hours per month annually makes about $363,000 in pay and benefits, compared to about $396,000 at UPS, according to analysis by Kit Darby, an aviation labor consultant. A senior captain at Delta Air Lines or United makes about $416,000 per year.

DiMento indicated that FedEx plans to offer the same amount of total money to the pilots in this go round as it did in the tentative agreement, but reallocate it differently between retirement, higher pay scales, signing bonuses or other buckets. 

The worth of the contract will be more than last July because higher pay rates and signing bonuses will have accrued since then and will be retroactively covered in the new contract, DiMento explained.

One of the check airmen, who said he voted in favor of the negotiated contract, questioned if the strategy will work.

“The young guys, their mentality is, ‘We came to this premier airline and we want a premier contract.’ I don’t know if they are going to go for it,” he told DiMento. The total compensation and lifestyle for a veteran FedEx pilot compares very favorably to one at Delta, he added, “but they don’t listen.”

Many pilots were concerned that language prohibiting outsourcing to third-party airlines if FedEx reduces flight hours or furloughs pilots wasn’t strong enough in the tentative agreement, but DiMento stressed management wants to maximize use of its own aircraft and won’t seek operating leases when its own pilots aren’t busy. He said that FedEx wanting long-term transportation service agreements to replace in-house flying undermined passage of the interim contract.

Economic Leverage Shifts

When the parties began negotiations in 2021 to amend the existing contract, the FedEx fleet was maxed out to meet soaring freight and parcel demand, stoked by people buying goods online rather than services because of social distancing during COVID.

The market has drastically changed since then, with e-commerce growth returning to normal and air cargo volumes contracting for nearly 18 months. FedEx Express was hiring pilots as fast as it could and didn’t forecast the severity of the downturn. The company now has more aircraft and pilots than needed to fly current volumes.

There are about 700 surplus pilots out of 5,800 on the payroll, according to FedEx officials. 

In the fall of 2022, FedEx launched an initiative to take out $4 billion in structural costs, especially in the air network, and redesign the entire parcel distribution network for greater efficiency. The air overhaul could make FedEx Express less reliant on aircraft than in the past.

The air and international unit flew fewer hours in 2023, deactivated aircraft until demand returns, accelerated the retirement of older planes, and flew more direct routes. Since the company still has new freighters on order, it’s unclear if the total fleet size will decrease. FedEx last year decided to close three pilot bases in the U.S. and overseas and its Los Angeles airport maintenance facility in 2024. The repair jobs will be sent to Indianapolis.

FedEx is only providing the minimum number of flight hours guaranteed in the existing contract. Pilots are making substantially less money because they have to share a smaller pool of flying assignments. One pilot contacted by FreightWaves said his pay has been cut back 30 percent this year.

In November, management prodded pilots to consider job openings at PSA Airlines, a regional feeder carrier owned by American Airlines, that offered incentives to attract FedEx and UPS pilots.

The FedEx pilot said he had not heard of any colleagues taking the PSA deal. Pilots said in online chat forums that they considered the request disrespectful to veteran crew members who can go directly to a large airline and enjoy superior benefits. PSA did not respond to a message about the success of the recruiting effort.

Since few pilots have been willing to voluntarily leave so far, guaranteed pay could soon fall to about 60 or 61 hours per month, DiMento told the check airmen. That would effectively reduce pilot rolls by an additional 100 individuals and save FedEx about $100 million per year.

He speculated that it would take a $500,000 exit package today to entice some pilots into early retirement because many near eligibility are holding off until a new contract is in place. Normally, about 140 FedEx pilots retire at the end of each year, but only about 40 captains did so in 2023.

When a contract is finalized, FedEx will make it attractive to retire by waiving the requirement for giving notice of early retirement and enhancing the severance package, said DiMento.

FedEx has to balance a new contract offer against the economic realities it faces. It can’t afford to give pilots $500 million extra to close out a deal, DiMento said, when it’s struggling to generate revenue.

“In this business environment, as a pilot you can’t go in there asking for the world. It’s just not going to happen,” he said.

And, the flight operations chief added, the substantial loss of the existing U.S. Postal Service contract means FedEx will have 200 to 300 more excess pilots by October. The Postal Service is in the third year of a transformation plan that includes migrating most air volumes to ground transportation to save money.

• READ MORE: ATI Pilots Seek Federal Mediation on Stalled Contract

Mechanics Mobilize

Meanwhile, FedEx Express mechanics recently launched a campaign to join the Teamsters union.

The organizing effort targets about 5,500 to 6,000 aviation, truck and facility mechanics, and possibly some maintenance workers at FedEx Express, said Teamsters spokesman Matt McQuaid in an email exchange.

Hundreds of technicians have signed authorization cards saying they want the Teamsters to represent them in collective bargaining, the union said in a Dec. 20 news release.

The Teamsters’ goal is to petition the National Mediation Board for a representation election within the next few months, McQuaid said. The NMB will conduct an election if employees or a union is able to collect signatures from at least 50 percent of workers in a potential bargaining unit. Labor relations for airlines are governed by the Railway Labor Act, which highly regulates bargaining procedures that unions and employers must follow, and facilitated by the NMB.

That means any union has the harder task of winning national support across the country instead of organizing individual facilities at the local level.

“The response has been overwhelming,” said Joe Ferreira, director of the Teamsters Airline Division, in a Nov. 13 letter to workers in which he accused FedEx management of engaging in “an anti-union propaganda campaign that grossly misrepresents the factions of your unionization drive, the National Mediation Board process, and disregards federal law.”

According to ZipRecruiter, the average aircraft maintenance technician at FedEx makes $72,000 per year.

The FedEx campaign comes as the Teamsters have tried for more than a year to organize technicians at Delta Air Lines.

“We’re aware the Teamsters are targeting our mechanics at FedEx Express. We respect the right of our employees to choose whether or not to support such efforts. We are incredibly proud of the culture we have built over the past 50 years that empowers our employees’ voices; values their creativity and contributions; and encourages collaboration that is important to them, their career, and our future,” FedEx said in a statement to FreightWaves.

The Teamsters last year chalked up significant wins in the express logistics sector. An aggressive strategy by new President Sean O’Brien forced UPS to grant big pay increases to 340,000 workers while 1,100 ramp workers at DHL Express’ Cincinnati air hub won their first contract, pending ratification, after a 12-day strike.

Satish Jindel, the CEO of consultancy ShipMatrix, said in an interview that “the Teamsters should look for a better target [than the FedEx mechanics] where the law may not limit them and working conditions and wages are bad.”

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared on FreightWaves.

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Atlas Air took delivery of a 747-8 freighter on January 31, 2023, marking the end of an era for an iconic aircraft that transformed air travel and made it accessible to the average person. From the 747-100 to the 747-400, and then the modern 747-8, The Boeing Company built both passenger and freighter versions, and many used 747s that began in passenger configurations were converted to freighters by third-party engineering firms.

A live webcast of the delivery ceremony took place that afternoon. Thousands of people—including current and former employees as well as customers and suppliers—were on hand at the factory in Everett, Washington, to mark the historic occasion.

Most pilots may not realize that the 747 was originally designed—by the legendary aerospace engineer Joseph Sutter and his team—with freight in mind, unlike most airplanes built for passengers with a cargo variant.

The jumbo jet globalized trade in terms of range, size, and economies of scale it offered. The unique nose door allowed for long and outsized loads, and many of the main-deck pallets common today were developed in direct response to the introduction of the 747.

Flying the 747—as well as flying on the 747—was an experience that no other aircraft offered, with a staircase to the upper deck. It was so culturally and economically significant, and had such a unique figure, that it had its own nickname: Queen of the Skies.

Air Force One, which has carried U.S. presidents around the world for decades, is a special version of the 747 with the military designation VC-25. The jet was regularly seen on TV ferrying the Space Shuttle for NASA to Florida for launches.

On June 4, 2007, the Dreamlifter, a specially modified 747-400 used to transport major assemblies of the all-new Boeing 787 Dreamliner, gained type certification from the FAA.

Boeing began deliveries of the 747-8 freighter a decade ago. The latest model is 18.3 feet longer than the 747-400 and accommodates four additional main-deck pallets and three lower-hold pallets. The same type of engines power it—the General Electric GENX-2B—as those on the 787 Dreamliner.

Although Boeing will no longer manufacture new 747s—and most passenger versions are retired in favor of more fuel-efficient twin-engine jets—the 747-8s are sure to grace the skies for several more decades, steadfastly contributing to the global economy.

The Final Customers

All-cargo airline Atlas Air will operate the final production 747 freighter for global logistics giant Kuehne + Nagel under a dedicated contract. The airplane bears the livery of Apex Logistics, a Hong Kong-based air-freight forwarder that K+N acquired in 2021. In total, Atlas received the final four 747-8s produced by Boeing. Two are assigned to Kuehne + Nagel, and one is flying under the control of Cainiao, the logistics arm of e-commerce platform Alibaba.

Atlas Air, based in Purchase, New York, is the largest operator of 747s in the world. As of the time of delivery, it will have 43 747Fs, including nine -8s. All told, it has 50 jumbo jets, including the seven 747s it flies as passenger charters for the military, sports teams, and other airlines, according to the FlightRadar24 database.

Other airlines still operating large 747 cargo fleets include Cargolux, Cathay Pacific, Kalitta Air, Korean Air, and Singapore Airlines. In passenger service, airlines include Lufthansa, Air China, Asiana Airlines, and Max Air at the time of publication. And Korean Air has operated 10 of the model 747-8, configured with six seats in first class, 48 in business class, and 314 in economy.

People hold fast to their memories and impressions of the 747. Graham Perkins, a senior vice president for sales and marketing at Atlas Air, grew up near the airport in Calgary, Alberta, and fell in love with the 747 at an early age. “All three major Canadian carriers flew the 747s into my city, and I would plane spot with my binoculars to see these giants coming and going,” he said in Atlas Air’s Tailwinds blog. “To say I was in awe of the size and grace of these aircraft would be an understatement. And it is something I still feel to this day every time I see a 747.”

Today, Graham works with shippers who need the 747 for airlift. “Knowing the capabilities and performance of these incredible aircraft makes my job to place these planes that much more enjoyable,” said Graham, who celebrated his 20th anniversary with Atlas in September. “It is a source of pride to know that we operate the largest fleet of 747s in the world, and our customers value this from us.

“A lot of [Atlas’] success and attitude to win was developed on the back of the 747 itself. We should all be very proud of that and very thankful for this incredible aircraft that changed aviation forever. Luckily, we will see our latest deliveries flying for the next 30 to 40 years, so our success will continue well into the future.”

No matter where the last flight takes place of the 747, there’s no doubt it will be long in the future, as it continues to function as a valuable part of the global supply chain. The jumbo jet’s impact on connecting the world cannot be overstated.

This column originally appeared in the May 2023 Issue 937 print edition of FLYING.

By the Numbers

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The massive retailer on Thursday announced a partnership with Wing, the drone delivery arm of Google parent Alphabet, to deliver quick meals, groceries, household essentials, over-the-counter medicines, and more to residents through the air. Deliveries are expected to arrive in under 30 minutes straight to the customer’s yard, driveway, front door step, or other location of their choosing. 

The service will launch from two Walmart Supercenters in the coming weeks and reach around 60,000 homes.

“This is a major milestone for Wing as we continue down our path toward building capabilities to support some of the most significant delivery operations in the world,” wrote Shannon Nash, chief financial officer of Wing, in a blog post. “Our technology is designed to complement existing delivery offerings, making overall systems more efficient and able to meet real customer needs.”

The partners will begin with a Walmart store at 8555 Preston Road in the northern suburb of Frisco, adding large sections of the central and eastern parts of the town to its service area. Customers had been requesting an expansion since the service began delivering to Frisco in 2021.

Dallas-Fort Worth area residents can determine if they are eligible for drone deliveries by downloading the Wing app, creating an account, and entering their address. A “Coming Soon” message means you’ll be eligible for the new service on Day 1. The app may also say you are eligible, but do not live in the right area—Wing said it will add additional neighborhoods soon and to check back “in a few weeks.”

A second nearby store will join the delivery network before the end of this year, with more expected down the road. For now, the service will be available to homes within 6 miles of participating stores.

When the expanded Dallas service launches, Wing said it will expand hours of operation to 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. to provide more evening service. It will also extend availability to six days a week, delivering every day except Wednesday.

For Walmart, the partnership builds on more than two years operating drone delivery services in the U.S. The retailer has completed more than 10,000 deliveries out of 36 stores across seven states. It currently operates 11 drone hubs in the Dallas area and will now add two more. Most of these are overseen by longtime drone logistics partner DroneUp.

“Working with Wing directly aligns with our passion for finding innovative and eco-friendly last-mile delivery solutions to get customers the items they want, when they want them,” wrote Prathibha Rajashekhar, senior vice president of innovation and automation for Walmart U.S., in a blog post. “With drones that can fly beyond visual line of sight, we’re able to unlock on-demand delivery for customers living within an approximate 6-mile range of the stores that offer the service.”

Wing’s drones cruise at around 65 mph and use a tether to deliver cargo to precise locations in urban and suburban settings. Operators oversee the aircraft from remote command centers, flying beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) in many cases. The company relies on its Wing Delivery Network model, which uses stores as delivery hubs, allocates drones across the network, and enables convenient options like curbside pickup.

Wing first landed in the Dallas area in 2021, when it began trialing a new delivery model that staged delivery drones in tiny hangars at Walgreens retail locations: on roofs, in parking lots, and adjacent to the building.

Its commercial service in the area launched in full in April 2022, delivering from Walgreens, Blue Bell Creameries, Easyvet, and an array of local and national retailers. At many locations, store associates load the drones rather than Wing employees. Earlier this year, it began offering special deliveries to events in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, such as sunscreen for pool parties or orange slices for soccer games.

The company also flies in Christiansburg, Virginia, where it launched its first U.S. service in 2019. Its biggest services, though, are in Australia; it’s flown in Queensland since 2019, where the city of Logan (a suburb of Brisbane) sometimes sees 1,000 deliveries per day. Wing has also delivered in Helsinki since 2019.

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Royal Mail, the U.K.’s oldest parcel carrier, and Skyports Drone Services, the cargo delivery arm of drone infrastructure provider Skyports, on Tuesday announced the launch of a drone delivery project on the Orkney Islands, north of the Scottish coast. The service is initially slated for a three-month trial but is expected to become the country’s first permanent drone delivery operation under current regulatory frameworks.

“We are proud to be working with Skyports to deliver via drone to some of the more remote communities that we serve in the U.K.,” said Chris Paxton, head of drone trials at Royal Mail. “Using a fully electric drone supports Royal Mail’s continued drive to reduce emissions associated with our operations, whilst connecting the island communities we deliver to.”

The Orkney I-Port operation launched in July as a collaboration between Royal Mail, Skyports, the Orkney Islands Council Harbour Authority, and Scottish regional airline Loganair. The daily mail distribution service currently flies between three islands.

Letters and parcels are transported from Royal Mail’s Kirkwall delivery office to the town of Stromness, where Skyports delivers them to Royal Mail staff on the islands of Graemsay and Hoy via drone. Postal workers then collect the cargo and follow their normal delivery routes.

The weather and landscape of the Orkney Islands can impede traditional delivery methods like ferries. But Royal Mail says the geography also allows the company to conduct extended visual line of sight flights with less remote oversight than would typically be required.

The flights mark the first operation between Skyports and its partner, São Paulo-based Speedbird Aero. The partners will deploy Speedbird’s DLV-2 multirotor drone, which has a payload capacity of 35 pounds and a range of about 10 sm (8.7 nm). In addition to being able to fly in harsh weather, the drone figures to improve delivery speed and reduce emissions.

“By leveraging drone technology, we are revolutionizing mail services in remote communities, providing more efficient and timely delivery, and helping to reduce the requirement for emissions-producing vehicles,” said Alex Brown, director of Skyports Drone Services.

For the first three months of the project, costs will be covered by the U.K. Department of Transport’s Freight Innovation Fund. After that, though, the partners will be on their own.

The Next Generation of Parcel Delivery

For remote island communities like Orkney, drones represent a potential game-changer for delivery of mail and crucial items like medical supplies. The concept is one Royal Mail has now pursued for years.

In 2020, the company partnered with a consortium of U.K. drone firms and became the country’s first parcel carrier to complete a drone delivery that December. The following May, it ramped up those efforts with autonomous drone parcel delivery and inter-island test kit delivery trials to the Isles of Scilly. And in October 2021, it successfully completed yet another drone initiative, this time a two-week autonomous trial between the Orkney Islands.

In May 2022, Royal Mail announced its short-term vision: 50 postal drone routes launched over the next three years in partnership with drone logistics provider Windracers Group. The Orkney Islands and Isles of Scilly were proposed as initial sites alongside the Hebrides and Shetland Islands. Routes will at first be supported by up to 200 drones, but the ultimate goal is to deploy as many as 500.

Royal Mail is also reducing its fleet emissions by electrifying its ground transport. In 2021, it announced an initiative to ensure all company cars will be 100 percent electric by 2030. It provided an update on that effort in July, revealing that its delivery fleet already includes 5,000 electric vans.

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The Crosscutting Operations Strategy and Technical Assessment (COSTA) project is spearheaded by the Federal Aviation Administration and also has support from NASA.

Xwing’s partnership with the FAA’s COSTA program is a logical step in bringing his company’s vision for autonomy to life, Marc Piette, Xwing’s founder and CEO, told FLYING. That’s because outside of structured flying operations in and out of airports, operators also use aircraft for things like aerial firefighting, he said. Operators also have to deal with scenarios, such as pop-up TFRs, which means deploying all-around autonomy like Xwing plans to do, which is much more challenging than it seems.

“The challenge of integrating unmanned aircraft in the airspace is so much more than the automation itself,” Piette said. “It’s to ensure that we integrate seamlessly with all the participants of that airspace and follow the rules and can handle the various situations that get thrown at that unmanned aircraft.”

Fighting Wildfires

According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), more than 5,000 wildfires occur in California each year.

To help combat this, Xwing says it is essential that U.S. agencies “determine how to leverage new technologies and services to best address and manage natural disasters.” While existing dynamic operations feature manually-operated airplanes, helicopters, and various-sized drones to drop water or fire suppression in a small area, there is room for improvement.

NASA is working with the FAA and other disaster response agencies to figure out how to integrate unmanned aerial systems and deploy an Unmanned Aircraft System Traffic Management (UTM) to improve disaster response efficiency.

• READ MORE: NASA Awards Xwing Contract to Develop Autonomous Flight Safety Management System

The FAA’s UTM is a “traffic management ecosystem” for uncontrolled operations that is separate from but complementary to the FAA’s Air Traffic Management (ATM) system. 

According to the FAA, “UTM development will ultimately identify services, roles and responsibilities, information architecture, data exchange protocols, software functions, infrastructure, and performance requirements for enabling the management of low-altitude uncontrolled drone operations.”

Xwing will work with the FAA, the University of Alaska, and the Alaska Test Center for UAS Integration to evaluate information-centric approaches to improve traffic management in fire traffic areas (FTAs).

“This project will provide us with a more holistic view on how best to integrate large UAS in the existing National Airspace System,” Piette said. “Leveraging UAS, we have the potential to make everything from wildfire fighting to oceanic operations more efficient and safer. We believe the data that we collect from these operations will be essential to helping the FAA and NASA bring unmanned flights to more types of operations in the aviation industry.”

• READ MORE: Wildfires Leave Seattle Area Pilots Smoked Out

Checking the Boxes

The program, which is already underway, is set to run through April 2023. Xwing will run the flight operations for the project in Northern California, using Xwing’s autonomous flight technology on its Cessna Caravan aircraft. The flights will have a safety pilot on board.

Additional partners in the project include AirSpace Integration and ATA LLC, which will support flight data management, integrations with other FAA systems, and supporting operational flight trails.

Jesse Kallman, vice president of commercialization and strategy at Xwing, told FLYING that the data that Xwing collects will be used for various reasons. Those include analyzing the response times between air traffic control (ATC) and an autonomous aircraft, how UASs function when nearby other manned operations, and how remote operators use information-centric services to fly in challenging, high-stake operating environments.

• READ MORE: The Thrush 510G Switchback is a Potent Weapon Against Wildfires

“The process is pretty straightforward,” Kalman said. “We’re creating a series of trials, and we’re going to simulate different things. The FAA will control that local area, and we’ll figure out how you give commands to a very large unmanned system operating in and near other aircraft in that area.”

Kallman said the operation would also focus on figuring out how its autonomous technology manages things like pop-up TFRs, and unplanned route changes while interacting with existing air traffic in these sorts of environments.

Ultimately, this will give the FAA the data it needs to develop rules and procedures for its UTM framework. That could mean an evolution of the national airspace, communication procedures, or even right-of-way rules.

For Xwing, the project will help the company with its goals of integrating into the airspace.

“It’s a part of ensuring that we’re checking all the boxes as we are looking to certify this [autonomous flight] tech stack,” Piette said.

The post Xwing Joins FAA Study of Unmanned Systems Traffic Integration appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The cracks were discovered in early-October by a technician at the Warner Robins Air Logistics Center (KWRB), Georgia, who noticed a persistent leak on a C-130H propeller during a post-depot operation engine run check. 

• READ MORE: Prop Cracks Prompt Air Force To Ground Some C-130H Cargo Transports

“When the propeller assembly was removed and turned into the WR-ALC Prop Shop, a technician noted a crack in the propeller barrel assembly,” a spokesperson for Air Mobility Command (AMC) told FLYING in a statement at the time. Additional inspections revealed that two other propeller assemblies had the same issue, prompting the command to issue an order for a field level visual inspection on all C-130H aircraft with installed 54H60 props.

The order, which was expected to ground more than 100 aircraft, targeted aircraft with older propeller assemblies.

• READ MORE: Tenacity Helped This C-130 Pilot Earn Her Wings

Now, AMC officials believe an etching pen used to inscribe parts with serial numbers following inspections—an action the service describes as standard—may have led to the damage, Air and Space Forces Magazine reported.

“The process used to engrave serial numbers on the propellers caused the cracking that is being found on the C-130Hs,” an AMC spokesperson told FLYING in a statement Wednesday. “That process, which involved an electric arc pen to incise digits into the surface of the metal, was stopped about six months ago and will not be used going forward. Further analysis will be needed for a full understanding of the root cause of the cracks.”

The Air Force is implementing a “multi-faceted recovery plan” that includes locating parts to refurbish, the spokesperson said.

“When the depot at Warner Robins Air Logistics Complex receives an unserviceable propeller hub and blade set from a field unit, they are inspected, overhauled, tested, and then prepared for shipment to the affected unit,” the spokesperson said. “This process involves complex inspections and repairs that cannot be accomplished at the unit level outside the depot. Continued progress is underway in expediting the process to acquire available prop barrels, which includes scouring the globe for stock of the H model prop barrels that our maintainers can refurbish.”

The post USAF Identifies Likely Cause of C-130H Prop Cracks appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Days after fighting began in late February, the iconic Soviet-era strategic airlift cargo airplane with the 290-foot wingspan was destroyed amid fighting at Gostomel Airport (UKKM).

• READ MORE: Ukrainian Officials Reveal Fate Of World’s Largest Cargo Aircraft, ‘Mriya’

Months later, however, Antonov said it had collected nearly a third of the materials needed to build the aircraft.

2/2 За наявною експертною оцінкою,на теперішній час є близько 30 відсотків комплектуючих,які можна використати для другого зразка. Вартість побудови літака оцінюється щонайменше у 500 млн Євро. Проте про конкретну суму поки говорити зарано. Більше інформації буде після перемоги

— ANTONOV Company (@AntonovCompany) November 7, 2022

“According to the available expert assessment, currently there are about 30 percent of components that can be used for the second sample,” the company said in a statement on social media. “The cost of building the plane is estimated to be at least 500 million euros. However, it is too early to talk about a specific amount. More information will be [available] after the victory.” 

• READ MORE: Mourning the World’s Largest Cargo Airplane: An-225 Mriya

Initial reports suggested that construction of the new aircraft was 30 percent complete—a figure Antonov later corrected as representative of the components required to build, according to the Kyiv Independent.

“Work on the new machine is being carried out at a secret location,” Antonov acting director general Yevhen Havrylov said, Kyiv Independent reported Monday. “The second An-225, which was never completed, will be supplemented with parts from the bombed machine and new parts.”

• READ MORE: New Images of World’s Largest Cargo Jet Show Details of Destruction

“Work on the new machine is being carried out at a secret location,” Antonov Acting Director General Yevhen Havrylov said. “The second An-225, which was never completed, will be supplemented with parts from the bombed machine and new parts.”

— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) November 7, 2022

Earlier this summer, a former captain of the Mriya revealed details about plans to build a second version of the destroyed airplane. In a two-part interview released on Aerotime Hub, pilot Dmytro Antonov discussed how engineers would use an existing second fuselage of the An-225 to construct a complete airplane. He also offered reasons why the iconic type should return to the skies. 

“Everybody knows that we are going to do it, no matter what,” Antonov said. “It is confirmed at the highest political level, so, things are in motion.”  

• READ MORE: Ex-Captain on New An-225: ‘We Are Going To Do It’

Mriya‘s Unique Features

Built in the mid-1980s, the An-225 Mriya was a record breaker from the time it rolled off the production line, according to Simple Flying. And for good reason. In addition to being the heaviest aircraft in the world, the An-225 is known for having the largest wingspan and for carrying the longest piece of air cargo: two test turbine blades.

• READ MORE: New Video Shows Last Flight of An-225 ‘Mriya,’ the World’s Largest Airplane

#Ukraine‘s President Zelensky thanks the students and employees at “Antonov”, the Ukrainian airline, who created a model of their “Mriya” (Dream) aircraft, the world’s heaviest and with the largest wingspan, which the #Russians destroyed in the first days of the war. pic.twitter.com/AghJdEyh7o

— Kyle Orton (@KyleWOrton) June 20, 2022

Thom Patterson contributed.

The post Antonov Rebuilding World’s Largest Cargo Aircraft, ‘Mriya’ appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

As part of the deal, San-Francisco-based Xwing will share flight and ground operations data, algorithms, and pertinent autonomous subject matter expertise with NASA. In turn, NASA researchers will use the information to develop a safety management system (SMS) where regular pilotless flights can be integrated into the NAS. Additionally, NASA will study the risks associated with the fast-growing air mobility sectors that could soon feature electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (eVTOLS), autonomous and beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) drones.

• READ MORE: How Did a Native American Reservation Become a Drone Delivery Trailblazer?

Marc Piette, Xwing’s founder and CEO, explained to FLYING that sharing his company’s data with NASA was essential in accelerating the adoption of autonomous flight in the industry.

Though this isn’t Xwing’s and NASA’s first joint effort, Piette said. “We’re excited to work with NASA—it’s a good thing for the economy and country in general,” he added. “We’ll be able to increase safety, access to goods, and rural transportation in general.”

Fast-Tracking Innovation

Why would Xwing share its data with NASA? The overall program is part of NASA’s System-Wide Safety (SWS) Project that the agency launched in 2018 to grasp the impact these advanced aviation systems had on safety. 

“Emerging aviation relies heavily on advanced automation to ensure safety, and Xwing is working to bring novel, safe aviation opportunities to the American public,” said Misty Davies, NASA’s SWS project manager.

While NASA is predominantly thought of as a space agency, there are branches that focus on terrestrial aeronautics and work directly with the FAA, Jesse Kallman, vice-president of Commercialization & Strategy at Xwing, told FLYING. Because of its vast resources and ability to facilitate collaboration even across competing companies, NASA might be able to serve as the catalyst that speeds up the pace and commercial deployment of new aviation technologies at a large scale, Kallman added. 

From its findings, NASA can develop and deploy tools, technologies, and best practices to limit the risks these new systems will create as they blend into the existing airspace ecosystem. For Xwing, the benefit is that they get to leverage NASA’s technical capabilities to get its autonomous product to market.  

“Both the data we provide to NASA and data we receive will enable us each to advance our capabilities and build a more robust safety case for the technology,” Kallman said.

Xwing’s Fast-Growing Operation

In February 2021, Xwing demonstrated a fully automated gate-to-gate operation of a Cessna Caravan turboprop retrofitted with their technology. In a video shared on social media that captured the flight, the experimental Cessna 208B Grand Caravan exited its hangar at Buchanan Field (CCA) in Concord, California. It then taxied, departed, landed, and taxied back to the hangar entirely on its own. 

Fast-forward, the company is a Part 135 air carrier without the autonomous technology on its aircraft. Recently Xwing expanded its fleet to operate more than 400 weekly human-piloted cargo flights for UPS. The airplanes are retrofitted with sensors and tracking software to collect data. That’s the data being shared with NASA.

• READ MORE: Xwing Says The Future of Air Transportation Is Autonomous, But How Close Is That Future?

How NASA Will Use The Data

The NASA contract will last three years. The data Xwing provides is expected to help NASA understand the real-world challenges that the industry is facing, NASA’s Davis said.

Is it the future of aviation? One Bay Area company is looking to take flights to new heights without pilots on board. @ScottMcGrew has an in-depth look Thursday morning on #TodayintheBay. Tune in or watch here: https://t.co/30BiMjdHg3 pic.twitter.com/pl2OKMXm4R

— NBC Bay Area (@nbcbayarea) August 10, 2022

“It’s really about the integration, and not so much the technology onboard the aircraft, but how they operate within a real-world operational setting with ground crew, ground control, and air traffic control in general,” Piette said. 

For instance, he said there are inefficiencies—like how repositioning flights are conducted. Showing a slide from the data they’ve collected from their cargo flights, the map shows that pilots rarely get to fly the most efficient routes. There are delays on the ground due to inefficient taxiing and the cargo loading process, which are all jobs that pilots and other airport personnel are required to do.

“All these things need to be handled gracefully once you move to a remote operator,” Piette said.

A significant feature of the contract is that NASA will use the data to identify risks and hazards related to runway detection, identification, and vision-based landing. Presently, only airports with ILS-Category 3 approaches have dependable autoland capabilities. Still, GPS-enabled standard RNAV approaches, which typically have a higher margin of error and, therefore, are less accurate than an ILS, are more predominant. So, if the data Xwing collects and shares with NASA helps them find a way to ensure similar levels of accuracy with GPS as with the ILS in any weather condition or terrain scenario, it would be a big unlock for their program.  

Timing is Crucial

Broadly, Xwing’s data, including emergency procedures, airspace communications, and infrastructure needs—such as on-the-ground support—will help NASA’s research to build new infrastructure standards, pilot/operator certification standards, and other best practices. The NASA Aeronautics Research Institute (NARI) might also work with Xwing to determine the supply chain challenges that make pilotless operations challenging.

The timing is crucial. Last month, a group of aviation business leaders testified before a U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Aviation Safety, Operations, and Innovation about the progress of introducing new technologies into the national airspace system. As the government looks to provide funding for the FAA to operate through its FAA Reauthorization Act in 2023, leaders from various sectors—pilots, government, policymakers, and manufacturers—continue to try to get on the same page about emerging technologies. 

The post NASA Awards Xwing Contract to Develop Autonomous Flight Safety Management System appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The money for these projects comes from the Airport Improvement Program (AIP). The program pays for a variety of projects at airports including the construction of new facilities, repairs to existing runways and taxiways and maintenance to aerodrome infrastructure such as signage and lighting, as well as the purchase of equipment needed to operate and maintain airports.

“These grants will provide lasting benefits today and well into the future for our economy,” notes Deputy FAA Administrator A. Bradley Mims. 

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg noted the projects will bolster the supply chain internally through its infrastructure improvements. “Today’s announcement will make improvements at airports across our country so they can handle cargo more efficiently and help strengthen America’s supply chains.”  

Airports Receiving the Grants:

• Chicago Rockford International Airport (KRFD) in Rockford, Illinois, will receive $6,799,210 for the construction of a 4,267-foot taxiway and connectors to increase access to the south cargo apron. The airport was built in 1946 on the property formerly occupied by Camp Grant, a major training facility for the U.S. Army during both World Wars.
• Huntsville International Airport-Carl T. Jones Field (KHSV) in Huntsville, Alabama, will receive a $5,614,732 grant to rehabilitate 5,600 square yards of the existing air cargo apron and to expand the airport’s existing access road. The city of Huntsville has had three airports over the last 90 years—the first Huntsville Flying Field-Mayfair Airport was built with sod runways and located south of the city. The second airport opened in downtown Huntsville in 1941 with two paved runways; it has since closed. The present airport opened in 1967 to take advantage of the jet age and the travel it encouraged.
• Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport (KGSP) in Greer, South Carolina, picks up $4,524,530 for rehabilitation of the existing taxiways and cargo apron pavement. The facility is the second-busiest airport in the state.
• Bishop International Airport (KFNT) in Flint, Michigan is expecting some $2,307,210 which will be used to rehabilitate some 37,400 square yards of existing cargo apron pavement including crack repair and joint sealing to 26,800 square yards of deicing apron surface. The airport was established in 1928 when the family of Arthur Giles Bishop gifted the City some 220 acres of their farmland to the city for aeronautical purposes.
• Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (PANC), Anchorage, Alaska, is slated to receive some $8,169,544 to be used for reconstruction of the taxiways and apron. The airport was built in the 1950s and sees a significant amount of cargo weight passing through it.
• Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (KSEA) in Seattle, Washington, will receive some $1,926,518 to be used for the reconstruction of 4,200 square yards of existing cargo apron. The airport was established in the late 1940s when it became apparent that air travel was here to stay and Boeing Field, now known as King County International Airport-Boeing Field (KBFI), had run out of room to grow. The airport opened a third parallel runway in 2008, which also triggered a redesign of the Seattle Class Bravo airspace.
• Eugene F. Kranz Toledo Express Airport (KTOL) in Toledo, Ohio—a civil-military airport located some 10 miles west of Toledo—is getting $1,071,768, which is designated for the rehabilitation of 27,670 square yards of cargo apron, a taxiway redesign, and a taxiway safety area erosion control system. The airport is home to the Ohio Air National Guard‘s 180th Fighter Wing.
• Stockton Metropolitan Airport (KSCK) in Stockton, California, will accept $417,036 to fund the design phase to rehabilitate 800 feet of the existing cargo taxilane pavement. The airport is a joint civil-military airport. During World War II the airport, then known as Stockton Field, was a training installation as part of the Western Flying Training Command. Today the California National Guard is based there.
• Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport (KPVD) in Warwick, Rhode Island, will be taking a $197,310 grant to be used to design a new 60,000 square-yard cargo apron to accommodate increased use. The airport was established in 1931 as Hillsgrove State Airport. By the time the airport was renamed for newly elected Senator Green, it had three concrete runways. During World War II it became an Army Air Force training facility. After the war it was returned to civilian use and over the next decades continued to experience runway expansion as the needs of the community and the world changed. 

The post FAA Awards $31 Million For Cargo Airport Improvements appeared first on FLYING Magazine.