Belly Freight

Belly freight is cargo transported in the lower-deck holds of passenger aircraft — the same compartments that carry checked passenger baggage. On virtually every scheduled passenger flight, the space not consumed by bags is available to revenue-generating freight, making belly freight one of the largest and most cost-effective segments of global air cargo.

What Is Belly Freight?

The fuselage of a commercial passenger aircraft is divided horizontally by the main cabin floor. Below that floor lie the cargo holds, accessed through exterior doors on the underside of the aircraft. On wide-body jets such as the Boeing 777 or Airbus A350, those holds are substantial: a 777-300ER can carry approximately 20 tonnes of freight and baggage in addition to its 300-plus passengers. On narrow-body aircraft such as the Airbus A320 family, the hold volume is smaller but still commercially significant. Airlines load Unit Load Devices — standardized containers and pallets — into the holds alongside loose-loaded (bulk) baggage.

How It Works in Practice

A shipper books belly space through the airline's cargo division or a freight forwarder. The cargo is trucked to the cargo terminal at the departure airport, where it is weighed, documented with an air waybill, screened for security compliance, and built up into ULDs if the aircraft accepts them. At the departure gate, the load controller integrates cargo weight into the aircraft's load sheet to ensure the center of gravity remains within certified limits. Cargo is always loaded after baggage and offloaded before baggage at the destination, as bags take priority for access. Revenue management systems optimize the blend of passengers, bags, and freight to maximize yield per flight.

Why It Matters

Belly freight is financially critical to most passenger airlines. It contributes between five and fifteen percent of total airline revenue on international routes, effectively subsidizing ticket prices. During the COVID-19 pandemic, when passenger demand collapsed but e-commerce freight demand surged, some carriers removed seats and operated "preighter" belly-only passenger aircraft to sustain cargo income. The economics are attractive because the fixed cost of operating the aircraft is already covered by passenger revenue — freight is largely incremental profit. For shippers, belly freight provides ubiquitous global reach: if a destination is served by passenger flights, freight capacity almost certainly follows.

Key Facts and Figures

• Wide-body passenger aircraft typically offer 15 to 25 tonnes of cargo capacity per flight
• IATA estimated that belly freight accounts for approximately 55 percent of total air freight capacity globally
• Revenue per kilogram on belly freight varies from roughly USD 1.50 to over USD 5.00 depending on commodity, route, and urgency
• The Boeing 777F freighter derives from the same fuselage as the passenger 777 but replaces the main cabin with a cargo deck, illustrating how the belly architecture scales
• Narrow-body aircraft such as the A320 and Boeing 737 carry bulk-only belly cargo, limiting commodities to those that fit through smaller hold door openings

Related Concepts

Freighter Aircraft, Unit Load Device, Air Waybill, Cargo Load Factor, Combi Aircraft