In early September, I flew on a B747-8 Cargo plane belonging to Qatar Airways Cargo from Hong Kong to Doha. I learnt a lot about cargo operations during this trip. Here is the trip recap.
My trip started in Hong Kong Cargo Super Terminal One by HACTL, where they handle all the cargo logistics for Qatar Airways Cargo. Hong Kong Airport is the busiest cargo airport in the world, where countless B747 cargo planes operate in and out.
Video
Generally, the goods (cargo) arriving at the cargo terminal will be stored until the flight. Before the flight, the cargo will be wrapped up on a pallet to fit into the plane; this is usually done by the ground cargo handler company before loading the cargo pallets into the plane.
One unique feature on the B747 freighter is the front/nose cargo door; which can be opened and cargo pallets loaded from both the front and the side.
The cargo pallets are packed into a “contoured shape” to fit into the aircraft’s cargo hold.
The Boeing 747-8F has 34 cargo positions on the lower deck, with 135 tons of cargo capacity. Here are the specifics: (more on QRcargo.com)
Out of Hong Kong, cargo flights are generally full and are often carrying all sorts of exports from China. The flight had a Rolls Royce Trent 700 engine (for an Airbus A330) as cargo.
The engine was given special care as it was loaded from the side door and needed to be turned into the main cargo deck. The engine was tied down carefully to avoid any movement during the flight.
There was a typhoon near Hong Kong on the day of our departure, the cargo loading activities were hampered by occasional torrential rain and lightning warnings. There was water (from the rain) on some of the pallets which needed to be removed before entering into the aircraft. It took just over 2 hours to load up our Boeing 747.
Before the flight, the pilots are responsible for the walk around to check the engine, the gears and the fuselage.
Inside the B747-8F
The entire main deck was filled with cargo (34 positions). There are stairs to gain access from main deck to the upper deck. Here you will find the following: the cockpit, a small galley, lavatory, 6 crew seats and 2 bunk beds.
There is no cockpit door on the cargo plane, as it rarely carries passengers (supernumeraries).
We took off about an hour late due to the delay in loading the cargo (because of bad weather) and airport traffic congestion. Flight time to Doha was 7.5 hours. We were initially cruising at 30,000 ft.
Contrary to passenger flights, there are no flight attendants on a cargo flight. You simply go to the galley and help yourself. In my case, it was my first time heating up a meal using the in-flight oven. There were 4 choices of meal (beef, chicken, salmon and pasta). I must say that it didn’t look or taste too bad.
During the flight, if you want to go downstairs to the main cargo deck, you must carry an oxygen bottle and mask, in case of decompression.
It was a fairly uneventful flight, there was no IFE as usually only the pilots and one cargo load master fly on the freighter. I took a nap in the crew bunk and think that it’s actually better than the QSuite, with all the privacy.
We landed in Doha just before dusk. Watch the video of the landing.
Once we arrived in Doha, cargo offloading activities started immediately. Much of our cargo was transiting onward from Doha; it was taken to the cargo facility for storage and to await the next flight.
Qatar Airways have large dedicated cargo facilities including cold storage for fresh cargo or pharmaceuticals; they also have dedicated live animal stations with grooms and vets. There certainly was some very interesting cargo to be seen, including a luxury car.
Based on IATA’s international FTK rankings, Qatar Airways Cargo is one of the world’s largest international cargo carrier and serves over 60 freighter destinations worldwide via its Doha hub.
For more information of Qatar Airways Cargo, visit their homepage.
I work for Swissport Trinidad and Tobago Cargo and I always wanted to be a loadmaster. I was wondering how do you become a loadmaster? During your adventures did you ever ask about it?
Where is Alberto going back to?
Did he resign from Qatar cargo?
Amazing video, maybe you can do a in depth video of life of a cargo loadmaster one day?
Thanks.
Alberto is from Colombia
Flying in a freighter can be great but there are drawbacks.
In1976 I flew a round trip on a rare freight aircraft. An ATL98 Carvair from Southend airport to Dusseldorf, to Kirkwall, Orkney via Aberdeen, then back to Southend via Le Touquet.
All of this to collect a LARGE piece of oil plumbing destined to sit on the seabed of Scapa Flow.
The Carvair was a converted DC4 with a bulbous nose and a swing open dish shaped door. A bit like a piston engined 747 I suppose. Designed as a car carrier it was made obsolete by modern ferries, but BAF kept a couple as freighters.
This one was called Plane Jane as she was without any painted surfaces. A saving of almost half a ton usable as extra fuel or more freight.
No seats in the cargo space but climb a ladder to the cockpit and as well as crew seats there was a row of ‘jump seats’for extras or in my case Shipping agents representative.
The whole journey was an adventure from the off but that is another story.
The Carvair was not a pressurised aircraft and thus did not fly very high nor fast. There were no luxuries.The toilet facilities consisted of a chemical toilet in the nose door on a shelf with a curtain for privacy. One didn’t dither or take time to read the paper as the air pressure from outside gave a strong series of drafts through the rivets which were not 100% airtight.. so much for creature comfort.
Travelling with the crew over all those air miles was the best flight experience ever.
The pilot was a terrific lady by the name of Caroline Frost. Thank you BAF.
David
Thanks for sharing this inspiring story! It is an amazing experience to fly on an Carvair!
This was a great read, thx for sharing such a unique experience!