Editing Cargo airline (section)

==Aircraft used==

[[File:Antonov An-225 Beltyukov-1.jpg|thumb|The [[Antonov An-225]], formerly the world's largest aircraft, used by [[Antonov Airlines]] before its destruction in the [[Russo-Ukrainian War]]]]

Larger cargo airlines tend to use new or recently built aircraft to carry their freight. Current passenger aircraft such as the [[Boeing 777]] and [[Airbus A330]] offer freighter variants either from new the factory or as a conversion. Compared to the passenger variant, the freighter has a supernumerary area, which includes four business-class seats forward of the rigid cargo barrier, full main deck access, bunks, and a galley. Passenger planes converted to freighters have their windows plugged, passenger doors deactivated, fuselage and floor reinforced, and a main-deck cargo door installed.

Many cargo airlines still utilize older aircraft, including those no longer suited for passenger service, like the [[Boeing 707]], [[Boeing 727]], [[Douglas DC-8]], [[McDonnell Douglas DC-10]], [[McDonnell Douglas MD-11]], [[Airbus A300]], and the [[Ilyushin Il-76]]. Examples of the 80+-year-old [[Douglas DC-3]] are still flying around the world carrying cargo (as well as passengers). Short range [[turboprop]] airliners such as the [[Antonov An-12]], [[Antonov An-26]], [[Fokker Friendship]], and [[British Aerospace ATP]] are being modified to accept standard air freight pallets to extend their working lives. This normally involves the replacement of glazed windows with opaque panels, the strengthening of the cabin floor and insertion of a broad top-hinged door in one side of the fuselage.

The [[Antonov An-225 Mriya|Antonov An-225 ''Mriya'']], an enlarged version of the [[Antonov An-124 Ruslan|Antonov An-124 ''Ruslan'']], was the world's largest aircraft, used for transporting large shipments and oversized cargos.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chapman-freeborn.com/en/news/chapman-freeborn-charters-first-an-225-to-south-america|website=Chapman Freeborn Airchartering | title=Chapman Freeborn charters first AN-225 to South America}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chapman-freeborn.com/blog/argentinas-first-satellite-delivered-on-an-124-cargo-charter/|website=Chapman Freeborn Airchartering | title=Argentina's First Satellite Delivered on AN-124 Cargo Charter|date=2 October 2014 }}</ref>

Usage of [[Military transport aircraft|large military airplanes]] for commercial purposes, pioneered by [[Ukraine]]'s [[Antonov Airlines]] in the 1990s, has allowed new types of cargo in aerial transportation.

=== Passenger and cargo ===
In the past, some cargo airlines would carry a few passengers from time to time on flights, and [[UPS Airlines]] once unsuccessfully tried a passenger [[charter airline]] division. 

Passenger airlines regularly use their largest passenger aircraft like the [[Boeing 777]]-300ER to earn additional revenue beyond passengers on a scheduled flight, by transporting a limited amount of cargo alongside passengers' luggage underneath the passenger cabin.[https://www.anacargo.jp/en/int/specification/b7_300.html] This is known as mixed operations or belly freight, and makes up {{#expr:125750/262333*100round1}}% airline cargo traffic as of 2018.<ref name=WATS2019>{{cite web |url= https://www.iata.org/contentassets/a686ff624550453e8bf0c9b3f7f0ab26/wats-2019-mediakit.pdf |title= World Air Transport Statistics |publisher= [[IATA]] |date= 2019 |access-date= 2020-06-04 |archive-date= 2020-08-15 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200815214419/https://www.iata.org/contentassets/a686ff624550453e8bf0c9b3f7f0ab26/wats-2019-mediakit.pdf |url-status= dead }}</ref>  [[Alaska Airlines]] operates a series of short flights nicknamed the "Milk Run" to small towns in Southeast Alaska that do not have road access, using five Boeing 737-400 Combi aircraft whose cabin is divided in half with cargo up front and 72 seats in the back.[https://news.alaskaair.com/alaska-airlines/the-milk-run-flight/]