Cargo versus Pax

[Jeroen D]

I was out for a walk yesterday in a little park underneath the approach to Delhi International . Noticed a KLM 747 Cargo coming in to land.

Made me wonder; operators like AF-KLM who operate both cargo and pax version (and even combined version) do they have seperate cargo and pax crews? There must be a few difference in flying/opearting a cargo versus a pax version but I would assume its really minor.

Anybody knows?

thanks

Jeroen

[ScudRunner]

A guy I used to fly with went to Cathay (back in the 90's) on the 747F. I believe he is only rostered on freight operations and that Cathay crew this as an operation separately from the pax component of the business.

chrs
Scud

[IefCooreman]

Depends on the company. We are mainly cargo, but some fleet have aircraft that are "convertible" to passenger versions for holiday or specific charter flights. Technically it's all down to procedures you follow, so there is no difference really. There are some differences in the day to day problems you are confronted with.

In short: passengers flights create social problems, flights are not as "straightforward" as cargo flights. Cargo flights on the other hand can end up in more extreme situations.

You don't need Al Qaida to crash a cargo plane as the past has shown (batteries or a container on the loose is enough as the past has shown) On the other hand, if you have "general" technical problems leading to diversions, cargo is easier. In case of technical problems, passengers tend to "push" you slightly quicker towards a diversion (think depressurization with a couple of broken arms, engine failures and scared people), but a diversion with passengers in the wrong country can end up in a political and social nightmare (no visa, stuck in the plane for hours before deboarding is allowed,...). As a pilot of a cargo aircraft you only have to consider yourself and you know you are slightly more protected (oxygen supply, etc) so you are slightly less pushed towards diversions.

And off course, it's nice to transport VIP's (unless you have delays, grin), but strangely enough, the most exotic "loads" I've had sofar where all cargo (grin x 2)

[Jeroen D]

Thanks Ief,

How does it work in terms of compensation. Maybe I'm wrong but Im under the impression that flying passengers is considered a "bigger" responsible than flying cargo and hence pays more? I guess if you do both you can't really differentiate, but is there a tendency for airlines to think along these ways?

Jeroen

[IefCooreman]

Euh, the romantic image of passengers that "a life" always has more importance than anything else :-).

Companies don't consider "higher responsability" for the transport of the payload falling under the category "passenger (or PAX)". A "pax" is a type of payload. Nothing more. Cathay might be the exception with different payscales, but I think it's more "MTOW" based (like Air France distinguishes between A330/B777 fleets)

Salaries are comparable. UPS is considered the best paying airline in the world, Fedex shouldn't be a long way behind I guess. In my country, since the bankrupcy of the national carrier, no other (passenger) airline pays what my (cargo) airline pays but we are part of a big worldwide player, of which the main airline just happened to move into our country borders. On the other hand you have a lot of sub-contractors. They tend to pay very good, although you will find many exceptions. But you will find the same thing in the passenger transporting airlines. And if we then have to talk salaries, I think cargo will still have the advantage.

Cargo airlines have the issue of the working patterns that are harder (more nighttime and longer blocks of time away from home). And as a pilot, one has to ask himself the question if he likes flying around with small quantities of radioactive materials, stacks of lithium batteries, etc... (again, there are exceptions, low pay and horrible working conditions, especially in the world of sub-contractors). Of course, cargo airlines we hit hard during this crisis, so I wouldn't call it a choice. We are happy to be flying, passengers or cargo.

I know this might sound like a reality check, but it is. It's all about money and profit. "Life" has no economic extra value, only downsides. Sorry  

[Jeroen D]

Thanks Ief,
Much appreciated

Jeroen

[Will]

As far as pilot salaries go, pilots are paid, very roughly, by how much revenue their flights bring in for their boss, averaged throughout the years.

So a pilot of a 19-seat commuter aircraft makes less than a pilot flying a DC-10 full of cargo, not because it takes more responsibility to fly lots of cargo, but because a DC-10 full of cargo brings in a lot more revenue than 19 passengers.