Nwa Freight Future???

[clippyrip]

NWA FREIGHT FUTURE??? The loss of the DHL contract in fall 08 is a big hit and the aging 747-200 leaves some doubt, but I've heard that some of the Asia routes are freighter specific and NWA does not want to lose those...what is next? Does ANC as a base look like it may disappear over time? Most legacies have abandoned freight, is NWA late to make that decision or are they smarter for holding on?

 

[jetflier]

IMHO , NWA is waiting for the rumored merger with most likely DAL to happen before making changes.

IMHO, NWA will replace the 747-200 with a new (er) aircraft, maybe the 747-400 converted to freight as the 787 come on line next Jan.
Maybe even buying the new 747 freighters...
The slots for freight are no doubt a consideration and NWA has them.

 

[another cfii]

I'm not a freight dog, but since when flying freight is not making money?? I JS out of ANC on freighters a few time, and never see them going into the US empty. Somehow I'm thinking NWA is cooking this up for the upcoming contract talks in the 5 years.

 

[propdog]

NWA freight press article

Here is an article which came out a few days ago regarding NWA freight future:



"With a management shuffle complete, NWA Cargo
focuses on its long-term fleet and growth plans

Robert W. Moorman


​

The future for Northwest Airlines Cargo is still hazy, but its new president is offering a clearer picture for 2008 by revealing plans to buy new freighters, drop cities in Asia from the network and find a replacement partner for DHL Express.
NWA Cargo President Tom Bach, who succeeded air freight veteran Jim Friedel a few months ago, said the carrier is weighing a couple of choices to replace the aging 747-200 freighters Northwest now operates on trans-Pacific routes. NWA has 13 of the planes in service and one is parked.
The fleet plan could include reconfiguring some of airline's passenger 747-400s as freighters or acquire cargo versions of the A330-200; Northwest Airlines already is the largest operator of those aircraft in the passenger market. A major drawback to the A330 would be the noticeable drop in main deck cargo capacity.
"It would be logical for them to get airplanes that it has on the passenger side," said Robert V. Dahl, project director for the Air Cargo Management Group, a Seattle-based consultancy. "They do have A330s in the passenger fleet, but that aircraft is substantially smaller than the 747."
Another option is the 777 freighter, but the interest is cursory at best. Acquiring 777 freighters would require a "significant investment in infrastructure," Bach said.
Northwest, the only significant freighter operation among U.S. airlines, is also looking at the 747-8, but industry sources believe the price of the aircraft - about $294 million to $297 million list price - will discourage the Minneapolis-based airline known for being thrifty.
Nothing will be decided, Bach said, until Boeing determines when Northwest's 787 passenger aircraft will be delivered now that the program has been delayed for at least six months. Northwest has firm orders for 18 787s, plus 18 options. With the same number of lower-deck pallet positions as the 747-400, the 787 is expected to provide Northwest significant revenue from belly freight.
Trimming Time
Bach is a 24-year veteran of Northwest's passenger side who had been vice president for network planning and revenue management before moving to the cargo position.
He'll have the same concerns Friedel faced in recent years, including the challenge of remaining competitive in Asia while juggling changing markets and rising fuel costs that can wreak havoc on the economics of long-haul flights.
This month, NWA will drop the Osaka portion from the outbound Anchorage-Osaka-Guangzhou-Anchorage route, and replace it with a stop at Tokyo's Narita International Airport. Eastbound, the flight will remain the same.
"The westbound into Osaka was a multi-year experiment, and we're better off using Narita westbound," Bach said. Northwest will reduce its operating fleet to 12 747-200s freighters after Osaka is dropped.
NWA will also drop the entire Narita-Singapore-Bangkok-Narita route to strengthen its existing route structure and make way for new destinations.
"We are going to focus on additional Asia to U.S. markets," Bach said, with Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas and New York's Kennedy International Airport being considered for freighter service.
Northwest's cargo business has been falling, as the airline has scaled back capacity in recent years, particularly after it went into bankruptcy protection.
The airline ceded its No. 1 spot among U.S. passenger airlines for cargo revenue to American Airlines. The $212 million in cargo revenue Northwest counted in the third quarter was 12.6 percent behind the $254 million the airline took in during the same quarter the year before.
With the airline largely removed from the mail business, Northwest's cargo traffic has been sliding this year, off more than 15 percent on the domestic side, and even Pacific traffic is down sharply thanks to market forces.
Northwest also is looking to fill space left by the departure of DHL Express as a customer this year. If a new partner is not found, that loss of revenue could force NWA Cargo to downsize.
Partners Ship
To help broaden its market, NWA Cargo is "looking carefully" at joining the Skyteam Cargo Alliance, as well as forming other air freight partnerships, said Bach.
He plans to meet soon with China Southern Airlines. The carrier has existing relationships with Japan Airlines Cargo, Korean Airlines and KLM-Air France Cargo.
Like other air freight operators, NWA Cargo is facing the competitive threat from ocean transport. Bach acknowledged the problem, but the growing need for time-sensitive service, balances the equation.
"Fuel plays against us definitely, but the huge demand for electronics and other consumer products plays well for the airlines," Bach said.
Despite the weakening domestic air cargo industry, Bach sees some "opportunities" there for increased combination belly freight domestically. But restarting mail service is problematic because of the significant investment in technology that would be needed.
Meantime, the carrier improves operationally. The increased dispatch reliability of Northwest's 747-200 freighters can be attributed largely to the carrier's primary maintenance support facility at its Anchorage hub.
The maintenance base, which opened September 2007, help Northwest achieve 100 percent dispatch reliability in October on the freighters, the first time that milestone has been achieved since 2004.
Northwest recently hired 20 more aircraft-manufacturing technicians at Anchorage and has moved 7,000 parts for the 747-200 freighter there. The airline has invested around $15 million in ground-based equipment to improve the air freight operation.
Bach and Friedel before him saw the dangers of overcapacity in Asia and the need to be flexible. Near the start of 2007, Northwest ceased all-cargo flights to Hong Kong and beefed up service to nearby Guangzhou. Time will tell if this cautious approach to growth was the right choice."

 

[IslanderDriver]

Cargo vs. Pax at NWA

Just curious if there is much of a difference, seniority wise, for the 747 on the cargo side vs. the pax side?

That is, how junior is an FO on the cargo compared to the pax side?

 

[DTW320]

For BlockHolders:

747-200(ANC, Cargo) January junior FO = Nov 1995 hire.

747-400(DTW, Pax) January junior FO = June 1989 hire

For Reserves:

747-200(ANC, Cargo) January junior FO = Oct 1996 hire

747-400(DTW, Pax) January junior FO = August 1996 hire

 

[IslanderDriver]

Thanks for the info.