Freight DogsFinally a forum for those midnight prowler types who utilise the unglamorous parts of airports that many of us never get to see. Freight Dogs is for pilots and crew who operate mostly without SLF.
I know I might well be ridiculed and laughed at but I will take the risk.
Do you good freight people ever take passengers? What has prompted me to ask is because I recently saw an advert offering to take a small number of passengers on a cargo ship. Apparently it is a very popular way to travel as it is a much different experience to that of a normal passenger ship. I am sure some people would like to try flying in a freighter just to be different.
I know I might well be ridiculed and laughed at but I will take the risk.
Already done behind your back.
It is not a safety issue or a ticketing issue but an INSURANCE and LIABILITY issue. Horse and gorilla attendants are covered in the premium but any general publicants are not. Hence if a freight mob accepted a bloke off the street for carriage he will have to sign an Indemnity form before flight, which will free a Company and its Insurer of any rights to claims by said bloke for any injury and death. Much safer to fly pax aircraft and be done with it esp if you have dependents.
Then again if your girlfriend resembles a gorilla and you bring her along you're likely to be automatically covered!
Some cargo ships are allowed to take up to 12 passengers in what they call 'owners' cabins. Above that number the licensing requirements become more onerous, for example they need to carry a qualified doctor.
There are a couple of companies that specialising in this type of travel, here's one I used :
The Cruise People Ltd The Cruise People Ltd [Europe] 88 York Street, London W1H 1QT For the best in Small Ships, Expeditions and Freighter Travel
I know I might well be ridiculed and laughed at but I will take the risk.
Do you good freight people ever take passengers? What has prompted me to ask is because I recently saw an advert offering to take a small number of passengers on a cargo ship. Apparently it is a very popular way to travel as it is a much different experience to that of a normal passenger ship. I am sure some people would like to try flying in a freighter just to be different.
Would flying in a combi Freight/Pax aircraft do. A lot of airlines operate these type of aircraft. Also, I remember years ago reading about how there are courier companies that will actually pay people to accompany important packages or documents to destinations, perhaps on freighters but I don't have any details.
Long, long time ago we carried <=12 pax on banana boats. Ladies of fornicable age (flexible classification) were guaranteed a satisfactory voyage. In one case, hubby would have been less satisfied had he known what the second mate was up to whilst said hubby was enjoying an extended tour of the machinery spaces. Unfortunately, a couple of comely lasses could wreak havoc with the usual harmonious relations of the young officers
Anyhoo; we never carried pax on our B747 freighters, not even crew wives.
Back a decade or 3 ago, this old-stager used to ride on Royal Mail sacks on 748 freighter flights into CastleDon... did it 12 consecutive weeks to avoid a tedious road journey...
On week 13 I missed the flight (after "my" S61 suffered a gen. failure).. that flight ended as a burning hole in the ground near Kegworth after the door detatched and wrapped around the elevator/horizontal stabiliser.
Flew a freighter to a South American country, was asked to carry a pax on two occasions, one was a hooker being deported from said country and another was a politician who missed our scheduled passenger flight. Things were a lot more casual back then. Was a 748, Dart powered, not the new one.
I seem to recall that UPS had advertised a program many, many years ago that would utilize their freighters for pax operations on weekends. . . . . They were to use windowless pax pods with FA's (UPS possibly aimed such flights at positioning vacationing pax for cruise ship lines).
Anyone recall such a program? I think that the experiment had only lasted a week or two if at all.
I do remember, they bought B727's with windows in the late 90's. The aircraft were specially fitted for a quick change. As opposed to a CF, I believe the seats rolled in on pallets locking and connecting electrically. They actually operated for several years.
I seem to recall that UPS had advertised a program many, many years ago that would utilize their freighters for pax operations on weekends. . . . . They were to use windowless pax pods with FA's (UPS possibly aimed such flights at positioning vacationing pax for cruise ship lines).
Anyone recall such a program? I think that the experiment had only lasted a week or two if at all.
Yes, I remember that. It was a long time ago, but it is true. I am not sure about the pax pod part though.
Some cargo ships are allowed to take up to 12 passengers in what they call 'owners' cabins. Above that number the licensing requirements become more onerous, for example they need to carry a qualified doctor.
No idea about cargo airlines I'm afraid but this is how my Great Aunt and Uncle went around the world many years ago... Both qualified doctors, they apparantly had huge fun on various ships going round the world.
This not long after WWII and said GA had spent many years working in the slums of Glasgow, mainly fighting TB, so she seriously earned the R&R time onboard!
Not anymore - as much as some cargo operators would love to earn a few extra bucks/quid/euro/whatever to defray the exploding fuel costs by selling off these available seats, 9/11 changed all that. Unlike passenger planes, main deck cargo hold and cockpit are accessible during flight. So, for security reasons, no more passengers, only folk who need to be there for a good reason, like additional pilots, engineers, loadmasters, grooms. One of the setbacks of freighter aircraft - no pretty flight attendants serving coffee to the crew. If the two guys in the front seats get very lucky, they might cajole a grumpy mechanic into getting them a cup, which he probably spat into before bringing it up front cuz they gave 'im grief bout them DMI stickers
What type of arrangement, I wonder, was used for extraordinary rendition of terror suspects? seem to remember stories about these individuals being more or less tied down in aircraft with very little passenger accomodation.....
And along these lines, was there not, years ago, an airline called Air America that used to have peculiar manifests...
