Cathay Pacific has started regularly scheduled service to Pittsburgh for the next 12 weeks... but we're not invited. Cathay Pacific has this week launched a new 12-week cargo service to Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT). The service originates in Ho Chi Minh City (SGN), and then stops in Hong Kong (HKG) before continuing the long haul…
Continue reading: Cathay Pacific’s Interesting New Pittsburgh Cargo Flights
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
Thanks Lucky, I just assumed I was hallucinating. The medicine does that sometimes.
They have had regularly scheduled cargo flights to Rickenbacker airport (LCK) in Columbus for quite a while. It used to be with a 747, which I photographed a few times. Now I think they use a 777.
The best part is being below the normal flight path to see these landing in an otherwise sleepy airport we have in Pittsburgh.
EK - My understanding is that there cannot be any passengers in the cabin if any amount of cargo is placed in the passenger cabin. My guess is that they did not remove the J seats because they are somehow more expensive to uninstall and re-install than the economy seats
Cathay Pacific Cargo also has 6 B747-400ERF's, making it a total of 20 B747Fs. They also own Air Hong Kong, typically a contractor for DHL, but lately also helping Cathay on flying more freights regionally as well with their A300Fs and A330Fs. Cathay is working on converting two more B777-300ERs to cargo operation.
QR used to run freighters into PIT and pulled them pretty quickly. It’s not really a sustainable cargo market.
Likely backstory here: CX probably has one big cargo client who is running a project from Vietnam into PIT and contracted for the service and aircraft space. Leaves the returns wide open, but the way Cathay prices cargo these days, they will likely return empty.