5 Interesting Facts You Didn’t Know About Air Freight
We’ve done some research on some interesting facts that you may not know about airfreight.
1) The First Air Cargo Flight: 1910
Wright Model B aircraft was flown 65 miles (105 km) to deliver 200 pounds (91 kg) of silk from Dayton to Columbus. One of the 102 bolts of silk, which was bright pink, was later cut up and distributed as souvenirs.
2) Craziest Air Cargo Market Entry: DHL Express
DHL Express’ air courier service really took off when its founder, Larry Hillblom, saw a niche for courier delivery – making ocean shipping faster. Hillblom would fly ocean bill of lading from San Francisco to Honolulu in advance of the ship’s landing, speeding up paperwork at the port and saving days (or even weeks) at ports. DHL Express boasts a fleet of approximately 120 aircraft
3) Largest Air Cargo Plane: Antonov An-225
The largest air cargo plane in the world is the Antonov An-225 Mriya, which can take off with a maximum weight of 640 tonnes. The wingspan is an amazing 290 feet (88 m).
4) Longest Scheduled Air Cargo Route:
An Emirates Airbus A380 touched down in New Zealand. Completing what is believed to be the world’s longest non-stop scheduled commercial flight.
The service from Dubai to Auckland covered 14,200km (8,824 miles), according to industry website airwaysnews.com, pipping Qantas’ 13,800km Sydney-Dallas route launched in 2014.
It said the route was also the longest in duration, with passengers set to spend 17 hours 15 minutes in the air during the return leg from Auckland to Dubai.
5) First FAA Approved Drone Delivery: July 2015
Amazon’s been running tests out of a field in Washington but in July 2015, Flirtey, an Australian UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) delivery startup, delivered supplies from an airfield to a medical clinic in Virginia.
