ABSTRACT
The airline industry is not noted for its profitability and the cargo side of the business is no exception. This chapter compares the profitability of carrying air cargo both on freighters and passenger flights with passengers and other parts of the supply chain. In order to discuss the financial performance of air cargo carriers, two case studies have been selected from two world regions: Asia and the US. The first is Nippon Cargo Airlines (NCA), an all-cargo carrier based in Japan, and the second Federal Express from the US. The first is an airport-to-airport operator, the second an integrator. The chapter identifies some of the factors that explained the air cargo industry's poor financial performance. Anti-trust fines have hit some at a time when they are not in a financially strong position to pay them. In 2007 NCA established its own maintenance facility in order to bring in-house the major checks on its B747 fleet.
