Originally Posted by
CabinCrewe
I would be interested to know how many cargo services to and from PIK are at maximum TOW or landing weight and whether that is even relevant. Aren't most services "relatively" short hops across the Atlantic with nowhere near maximum fuel capacity/weight.
Cargo flights are different to passenger, and even short hops may have the aircraft at MTOW, or maximum that can be achieved for the characteristics of the airports etc. Fuel load will be less, but the weight is taken up by additional cargo load.
Passenger flights fill up when the seats are all taken. If you have 300 seats, that's it. Cargo however can be as much as you can get in up to your MTOW. Much air cargo will "bulk out", that is you reach maximum weight before the volume is physically full. Only a few operations, with lightweight loads such as FedEx mail, etc, or fresh flowers, will "cube out", that is the cubic capacity is stuffed full before you reach MTOW. Getting the balance right is a key commercial aspect. One of the main reasons why FedEx and UPS got into commercial cargo, having started with mail items, was to get the optimum efficiency of the aircraft between weight and volume.
Commercial demand is different too. A shipper may not ask "Can you take 20 tons of fresh seafood", but the other way round "How many tons can you take".