Northwest Airlines Cargo turns to fleet growth after management shake-up

NORTHWEST Airlines Cargo president Tom Bach, who recently took over from trouble-plagued Jim Friedel, sees the coming year as one to buy new freighters, widen networks into Asia and find a big client to replace departing DHL Express, reports Washington-based Aircargo World magazine, adding that if a new partner is not found, downsizing is expected.

To expand its network, the Minneapolis-based NWA Cargo plans to meet soon with China Southern Airlines, a carrier with relationships with Japan Airlines Cargo, Korean Airlines and KLM-Air France Cargo. A year ago, Northwest stopped all-cargo flights to Hong Kong and transferred operations to Guangzhou. Northwest's cargo business has been falling, particularly after it went into bankruptcy protection.

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. Eastbound, the flight will remain the same.

"The westbound into Osaka was a multi-year experiment, and we're better off using Narita westbound," Mr Bach said. Northwest will reduce its operating fleet to twelve 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 US markets," Mr Bach said, with Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas and New York's Kennedy International Airport being considered for freighter service.

The airline ceded its No 1 spot among US passenger airlines for cargo revenue to American Airlines. The $212 million in cargo revenue Northwest counted in the third quarter was 12.6 per cent behind the $254 million the airline took in during the same quarter the year before.

NWA Cargo is now considering how to replace its aging 747-200 fleet on the trans-Pacific. This might involve converting the airline's passenger 747-400s into freighters or securing A330-200 cargo planes, but they lack needed cargo deck capacity.

At present Northwest Airlines stands as the largest operator of those aircraft in the passenger market, having 13 flying and one on the ground. Another option is to buy the new 777 freighter, but this would require a major infrastructure investment, which is discouraging for a firm known for thrift.

Northwest, the only significant freighter operation among US airlines, is also looking at the 747-8, but industry sources say its US$297 million list price will discourage the budget-conscious company.

Boeing must first decide when Northwest's 787 passenger aircraft can be delivered now that its programme has been delayed for at least six months, said Mr Bach, who ran Northwest's passenger side before coming to rescue its cargo operation. Northwest has ordered eighteen 787s. With the same number of lower-deck pallet positions as the 747-400, the 787 is expected to provide Northwest substantial bellyhold revenue too.