Air cargo peak season 2024

Nick Benson - JetTip.net

A 1/30th of a second pan shot from last year's peak at MSP; Atlas has a single 747 flying for UPS so far this season.

It's the most wonderful time of the year - peak! The annual surge of holiday cargo demand means many airports will see temporary changes in their traffic from DHL, FedEx or UPS to accommodate holiday parcels. In some cases, carriers will assign larger aircraft to a route, in others, they (UPS, mostly) wet-lease aircraft from another cargo airline.

Covering the impact at each airport in the US is too much for a single blog post, but if you're interested in keeping tabs on changes at your favorite airport(s), our smart flight alert service is built for situations like this - you can get alerts when an unusual aircraft is going to come in, and our cargo filter is a great way to see what's happening at a glance.

Just as we've done every year since 2018, we'll be tracking peak cargo season again in 2024; if you've got a scoop (especially with respect to wet-lease operations), shoot an email to hello@jettip.net.

ABX

ABX returns to the UPS peak fleet this year with a pair of 767s, N312AA and N317CM, which have been flying to LBB, PHX, RFD, and SDF.

767

• N312AA (B762), 2022 livery; to LBB Nov 25; first UPS flight Nov 25, LBB-SDF
  
• N317CM (B763), 2022 livery; to PHX Nov 25; first UPS flight Nov 25, SDF-MIA

ATI

Following the pattern of the last couple of seasons, ATI has a pair of 767s flying for UPS again this year, N351CM and N395CM. As of early December, they've been assigned to BFI, MIA, RFD, and SDF.

767

• N351CM (B763), simplified ATI livery; to BFI Nov 24; first UPS flight Nov 25, BFI-RFD
• N395CM (B763), Capital Cargo special livery; to SDF Dec 2; first UPS flight Dec 3, SDF-MIA

Amazon

We've been issuing a few sporadic alerts over the last month for Amazon flights, but nothing more than the usual, occasional 737 getting covered by a 767.

Amerijet

Returning to UPS after an absence last year, Amerijet is providing a pair of 767s, N347CM, and N432AX, which are flying between ELP, SAT, and SDF.

767

• N347CM (B763), classic livery; to ELP Nov 24; first UPS flight Nov 25, ELP-SDF
  
• N432AX (B763), classic livery; to SAT Nov 24; first UPS flight Nov 25, SAT-SDF

Atlas

Updated Dec 10, 2024

Giant provided UPS with a trio of 747s last year (one didn't join the fleet until Dec 11, so it's still early); so far this season our analysis reveals 747 N473MC getting assigned IAH-SDF, and 767s N642GT and N649GT flying to ONT, PDX, RFD, and SDF.

747

• N473MC (B744), standard livery; to SDF Dec 2; first UPS flight Dec 3, SDF-IAH

767

• N642GT (B763), ex-DHL cobrand livery; to SDF Dec 8, first UPS flight Dec 8, SDF-ONT
• N649GT (B763), standard livery; to ONT Dec 2; first UPS flight Dec 4, ONT-RFD; replaced by N642GT on Dec 8

CargoJet

New for this year, CargoJet is operating a pair of YHM-SDF flights with 757s; C-FLPA and C-GIAJ, and starting on December 2.

DHL

As is usually the case, DHL's large number of operators regularly throw smart flight alerts across the US as different livery variations visit different airports during the course of their regular operations - I've poked around at a few of the airports that have gotten a large number of alerts, and none of the ones I saw appeared to be new peak routes - if you're aware of any, please reach out!

FedEx

As was the case in 2022 and 2023, it appears that FedEx is not adding wet-lease capacity again for 2024. There have been quite a few smart flight alerts recently for their MD11s, A300s, and 757s as they shift their fleet around a bit to handle peak.

Kalitta

Nick Benson - JetTip.net

A pair of Kalitta 747s are flying for UPS already, with four more expected to start next week.

Edited: Dec 11, 2024

Kalitta has a four of 747s flying for UPS now; N702CK, N705CK, N708CK, and N768CK are in so far, flying between ANC, DFW, HNL, ONT, MSP, PHX, SDF and SJU.

747

• N702CK (B744), white tail; to PHX Nov 24; first UPS flight Nov 25, PHX-SDF
• N705CK (B744), classic livery, to SDF Dec 8; first UPS flight Dec 8, SDF-HNL
• N707CK (B744), classic livery, to DFW Dec 8; first UPS flight Dec 9, DFW-SDF
• N708CK (B744), new livery, to SDF Dec 9, first UPS flight Dec 9, SDF-ONT
• N709CK (B744), classic livery, to SDF Dec 10, first UPS flight Dec 10, SDF-DFW
• N768CK (B744), new livery; to DFW Nov 25; first UPS flight Nov 25, DFW-SDF

SkyLease Cargo

Edited: Dec 11, 2024

SkyLease Cargo has joined the UPS fleet with a single 747, N903AR, which has been bouncing between SDF and MIA.

747

• N903AR (B744), to SDF Dec 9; first UPS flight Dec 10, SDF-MIA

UPS

As per usual, UPS continues to shuffle their fleet around to meet demand, with lots and lots of smart flight alerts getting sent to our subscribers. Of interest this year, they recently acquired a pair of 747-8 freighters from Qatar (N634UP and N635UP), which have had the titles and tail logo painted over, but remain in their two-tone gray and white livery. I can't recall another instance of UPS operating aircraft that haven't been properly painted - try to catch them while you can!

Western Global

Nick Benson - JetTip.net

A triumvirate of three-holers! Western Global has a pair of MD-11s flying peak this year for UPS.

Edited: Dec 9, 2024

Another airline returning after an absence (and Chapter 11) last year is Western Global; most of their active fleet has flown for UPS so far this season, including all three of the active MD11s (N543JN, N545JN and N783SN) as well as one of their 747s, N452SN. They've been operating out of EWR, ONT, PHL, SDF

747

• N452SN (B744), standard livery; to PHL Dec 2; first UPS flight Dec 2, PHL-SDF; appears to be back to regular, non UPS flying as of Dec 4.

MD-11

• N543JN (MD11), white tail; to SDF Dec 3; first UPS flight Dec 4, SDF-ONT, suspect replacing N452SN
• N545JN (MD11), titles only; to SDF Dec 6; first UPS flight Dec 6, SDF-EWR (appears to be returning to service after spending November stuck in Italy)
• N783SN (MD11), standard livery; to EWR Dec 2; first UPS flight Dec 2, EWR-SDF

Nick Benson

Nick lives in Burnsville, Minnesota with his wife and three children. He grooves on railroad and aviation photography, politics, geography, weather, and LEGO. He started JetTip's smart flight alert service in 2017, and is now a full-time avgeek. He can frequently be found atop a step ladder at MSP's Aircraft Viewing Area.