News / Air Canada Cargo boosts North American freighter operations

Air Canada Cargo Boeing 767-300 freighter. (CNW Group/Air Canada)

Air Canada Cargo (AC) has added Chicago to its network of places served with freighter aircraft, more US destinations may follow, and is going to step up all-cargo flights to Mexico.

Starting 2 June, AC will operate 767-300F aircraft three times a week to the ‘windy city’, supplementing its passenger flights and road feeder service connecting Chicago to the airline’s Toronto hub.

“Chicago has always been a big station for us,” said Matthieu Casey, MD commercial for cargo. “We’re self-handled there, which gives us a solid footing and control to offer unparalleled service.”

According to him, the short hop between the two airports cuts transit times by as much as a day in some cases. Some shipments can be transferred tail-to-tail in Toronto.

However, Mr Casey described connectivity with Europe as the biggest opportunity, adding that there was also good potential for inbound flows from Asia. Connectivity with Latin American destinations varies.

The North Atlantic witnessed a massive build-up of capacity after the pandemic, as airlines rebuilt their passenger schedules, which pushed down pricing on the sector. Nevertheless, there is sufficient demand for the new all-cargo operation, according to Mr Casey.

AC serves over 30 points in Europe and “where there is no direct lift, we have the fastest transit time”, he noted.

The airline’s cargo strategy is predicated on network leverage, given its reach beyond its relatively small home market. Originally it served the US through a combination of belly capacity and road feeder services, apart from transit stops for freighters headed to Latin America,Dallas/Ft Worth, Miami and Atlanta.

This strategy changed last year when Dallas became an end destination in its own right. Chicago is the second such point in the US for the airline, and more may follow.

“We’re always open to other spots,” said Mr Casey, but added that no new US freighter venture was imminent.

The next step in network build-up is going to be an increase in AC’s footprint in Mexico. The airline will add a fourth weekly freighter flight to Felipe Angeles International Airport, designated the freighter gateway for the capital after all-cargo operations were embargoed at the chronically congested Benito Juarez Airport last year.

Mexico is certainly getting busier. One senior freight forwarder at a global company said that, in the past nine to 12 months, they had seen significant volume development going into Mexico.

“China feeds cargo into markets like Los Angeles, down into Guadalajara and Mexico City. And certainly what we are seeing is a volume increase into Mexico, which is then, I think, going to cause some carrier shifts and, hopefully, carriers adding capacity down there.”

AC Cargo is due to receive three 767-300 all-cargo aircraft this year, which will bring its freighter fleet to 10  of the type. And belly capacity is also rising. Like other North American carriers, AC has been rebuilding its transpacific network, most recently with the launch of four weekly 787 flights between its Vancouver hub and Singapore this month.

Meanwhile, rival Cargojet reported its quarterly results yesterday.