What is Air Cargo?
Air cargo transportation is the process of transporting materials from one point to another by aircraft. This definition covers all cargo carried in the cargo compartment and excludes passenger baggage.
Air cargo transportation involves the packaging, labeling, proper preparation of paperwork and transport of materials by an aircraft in accordance with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and International Air Transport Association (IATA) rules, taking into account country and carrier restrictions.
History of Air Cargo
The historical development of air cargo transportation is based on specific periods and marked by various milestones. First, the New York - Albany mail flight on May 28, 1910, followed by the Wright Company's flight on November 10, 1910, carrying 5 tons of silk from Dayton to Columbus. However, these flights are not considered as the beginning of regular air cargo transportation.
The historical development of air cargo transportation is as follows:
Air Mail: Air mail, one of the first services offered in the US, gained importance in 1925 when the US Congress authorized private sector carriers to carry mail. The first commercial airplanes were generally built for mail transportation. Today, airline revenue from mail transportation is usually less than 3%.
Air Courier The first air courier service in the United States was carried out by United Airlines in 1927. However, due to the dominance of the Railway Express Agency (REA), development in this field was limited. After REA went bankrupt in 1975, each carrier began offering its own air courier service.
Overnight Air Courier (Overnight Air Express): Federal Express (FedEx) was founded by Frederick W. Smith in 1973. FedEx transported the cargo collected during the day in its own airplanes at night and distributed the packages the next business day. This system laid the foundation for collection and distribution. Today, FedEx handles most of the courier traffic in the United States.
Air Cargo The first cargo-only flights took place in 1931 between New York and Kansas City. However, these flights were non-scheduled and departed when the plane was full. The first scheduled air cargo service was launched by United Airlines in 1940. The development of air cargo transportation was influenced by the US Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAB) defining air cargo organizers and authorizing three air cargo companies to operate.
Arrival of Jumbo Jets: In 1970, the Boeing B-747 Jumbo Jet was introduced for passenger operations, marking the beginning of the use of wide-body aircraft for air cargo transportation. The first cargo plane, the B-747, was put into service by Lufthansa Airlines in 1972. B-747 cargo planes have the capacity to carry very large cargoes of 100,000 kg at a time, which is why they are preferred in air cargo transportation in the past and today.
