Photo: KLM
KLM's first passenger aircraft took off today, which not only takes cargo back in the 'belly', but also on passenger seats and in the luggage bins in the cabin of the aircraft.
KLM flew from Shanghai to Amsterdam with a B777-300 and brought back cargo in this new way for the first time. The cargo mainly consisted of medical supplies, such as hundreds of thousands of face masks and protective clothing, in the fight against the corona virus. This new freight transport concept makes extra space available for the transport of these goods.
About 500 packages are transported in the cabin per flight. If the trial is successful, Beijing and Hong Kong will also be added to Shanghai as destinations. KLM will deploy three Boeing 777s for Cargo-in-Cabin. The 747-400 combi flights that are currently being used again and are also heading in that direction will soon participate in this setup. The packages are placed on the seats and in the overhead bins.
Cargo-in-Cabin in practice
The new and temporary cargo concept was set up by KLM in three weeks by a multidisciplinary team. Adriaan den Heijer, Executive Vice President Air France-KLM Cargo: “There is a lot involved in the development and implementation. Safety therefore plays an important role. All packages on the seats are tied per seat to ensure they remain in place during the flight. But there are also practical points of attention, such as bringing the cargo on board quickly and safely, without damaging the interior. Incidentally, loading a cabin is labour-intensive; the process is now expected to take about 4 hours.” To ensure that everything goes smoothly, a Cargo in Cabin Coordinator from KLM Cargo always goes along on these flights to supervise the loading on site and that it is carried out in accordance with the procedures.
Gain in space
“Cargo-in-Cabin significantly increases our capacity. What we can now store in the cabin would correspond to about 6 large pallets in the belly, or 40% of the total cargo capacity,” explains Den Heijer. “We can very well use this gain in space to take more medical supplies with us,” explains den Heijer. “We respond to that need with Cargo-in-Cabin.”
Eva-Air already does.
Well done!
It also seems that a large, heavily loaded aircraft suffers less from turbulence.
Very comfortable for people like me who squeeze hard in the armrest during turbulence.
Can't the entire interior be removed? Or not?
Placing cargo on the seats only seems efficient to me if the outward flight has been carried out with passengers.
funny, I was just thinking, do you also have business class packages, and can they wait in the business class lounge before departure, and of course also save more points.
Very wise decision Well done
of necessity a virtue