Passengers and CARGO
From the early jet age through deregulation in the late 20th century, many passenger airlines didn’t just move people — they also moved freight. In fact, cargo often helped airlines balance revenue on long-haul or thin routes where seats alone couldn’t justify the service. Cargo was transported in several ways: in the bellies of passenger flights, on combi aircraft that blended freight and passengers on the main deck, or on dedicated cargo aircraft spun off from passenger carriers.
How Passenger Airlines Carried Freight
Belly cargo holds: Every passenger flight could carry freight under the floor in standardized containers or pallets — a critical revenue stream that sometimes made the difference on international routes.
Combi aircraft: These airplanes were designed or modified to carry both passengers and large cargo loads on the same flight, often with big side cargo doors and a partition between freight and seats. Combis were common from the 1960s through the 1990s but declined later due to economics and safety regulations.
Convertible & quick-change jets: Some aircraft could be reconfigured from all-passenger to all-cargo or mixed freight/pax layouts relatively quickly to suit demand.
Dedicated cargo divisions: As air freight grew in importance, major carriers set up separate cargo units, operating freighter jets alongside their passenger fleets.
✈️ Braniff International Airways – Used Boeing 727-100QC “quick change” jets in the late 1960s that could carry pallets and passengers in mixed service, including overnight freight runs.
✈️ Northwest Orient – One of the earliest adopters of combi and cargo-capable aircraft, flying DC-7C and later Boeing 707 combis between the U.S. and Asia.
✈️ Continental Micronesia – Operated Boeing 727 combis on Pacific island routes in the 1980s, blending cargo and passenger service on the same flights.
✈️ KLM Royal Dutch Airlines – A major proponent of the combi philosophy, flying DC-8 and many Boeing 747 combi jets on long-haul routes through the 1970s and ’80s to maximize belly and main-deck freight alongside passengers.
✈️ Air Canada – Historically earned a large share of its cargo revenue through combi flights in the mid-1970s, showing how integrated freight could support passenger network economics.
✈️ Alaska Airlines & Regional Carriers – In Alaska and remote regions, carriers like Alaska Airlines and Wien Air Alaska flew Boeing 737 combis and Fairchild F-27 turboprops that integrated freight and passengers on milk-run services for decades.
✈️ Air France & Lufthansa – European flag carriers that operated combi Boeing 747s on intercontinental services and, by the 1970s, launched dedicated cargo arms (Air France Cargo in 1972, Lufthansa Cargo by 1993).
✈️ MarkAir & Interior Airways – Alaska-based carriers that supported freight and passenger moves in challenging northern terrain; MarkAir in particular traced its freight roots to flying Lockheed L-100 Hercules aircraft in support of oil exploration.
By the 1990s, as express integrators (like FedEx and UPS) and dedicated all-cargo carriers expanded, passenger airlines increasingly separated freight into dedicated divisions or relied on bellies rather than mixing freight and passengers on the same deck — yet cargo remained a vital part of airline economics throughout these decades.
