News / Airlines look to let their bellies take the weight as fuel-hungry freighters are axed

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“Disappointing” is the word carriers are commonly using about 2013 – but flat or declining results, particularly in Europe, appear to have sharpened the focus for 2014 on bellyhold capacity. Although the year overall was weak, however, this morning IATA announced that air cargo demand grew 6.1%, year-on-year, in November, outpacing October’s 4.4% growth.

Nevertheless, increasing numbers of less-efficient freighters are being taken out of active service.

“I think there will be further cuts in the freighter fleets of passenger airlines, especially ...