Leon Joseph George

 TYPES OF PLANES AND WHEN TO USE THEM In this dynamic and globalized world, where the technology is achieving new heights day by day so are the various sectors of the economy. One of those sector is the air sector, which is an important part of this globalized economy for safe, secure and fast transportation of passengers as well as cargo from one part of the world to another. Most of the passengers and companies prefer the air sector for traveling and transportation of their cargo since the travel time is reduced as compared to other traveling means and methods. So, now let’s discuss the types of planes and when are they used and for what purpose they are used. The aircraft/planes are mainly used for transportation of cargo and passengers and other purposes like military jets. 1.PASSENGER AIRPLANES - About every passenger plane transports cargo in addition to passengers carried on its main deck. The "belly" of the aircraft is designed to accommodate the passenger’s luggage and other airfreight of suppliers. Most of the airfreight carried through passenger planes are not palletized (i.e., it is held loosely in the plane) and is shipped piece by piece, none of the freight or packages are secured onto the aircraft. Often, international cargo services on passenger airplanes are somewhat unreliable as airlines often bump the freight, creating more capacity to carry additional passengers, and their luggage One of the biggest constraint on a shipper or supplier of goods using passenger airplanes for shipping freight is the maximum size of the shipment that it can be. The main issues involved are the size of the hold- which depends on an airplane used and size of the door to access the hold. Another concern is that there are many items that are allowed to be transported through passenger planes, even though they are acceptable for air transport via passenger planes. Another alternative available to the shipper to transport the product is through a courier service which is often carried out by the student or any other person who is flying in that city where the courier needs to be transported. It usually involves critical parts and important documents and they travel as passenger’s luggage. 2. COMBI AIRPLANES- They are also passenger airplanes that are designed so that freight is carried on the main deck as well as in the belly hold. The main deck is, therefore “split” at some point in the middle of the aircraft, with the forefront portion of the plane reserved for passengers and the after portion reserved for freight. Some aircraft are reserved for passengers and the after portion reserved for freight. Some aircraft are designed specifically with a partition that is based on the demand of customers, during the seasonal time the partition is in such a way that there is more space for passenger accommodation and less space for freight. For shippers, combi airplanes are an advantage as size limitation of passenger aircraft are especially gone. The main deck has greater weight capacity, a much larger door for freight to be loaded and unloaded and can accommodate palletized and containerized cargo. The cargo can also be secured through slings, which hold the freight tight in case of turbulence. 3. AIRFREIGHT- Most of the airfreight are “liners” i.e., they operate on a regular basis or liner basis from one airport to another, out of which one airport is the hub the location where the cargo will be transferred to another flight. The type of airplane used in this trade is the same passenger plane, with the exception that these aircraft are equipped with roller deck. A roller deck is the main deck that is equipped with rollers for palletized cargo to be loaded and unloaded, either through oversize size door or through the nose of the airplane which can be lifted while loading and unloading. The cargo is then secured to aircraft floor and walls using hooks and slings. Air freighters present the advantage for shippers of offering regular service of transporting the cargo on which palletized and containerized cargo can be loaded and unloaded. The air freighters has given shipper the advantage of transporting the cargo in a much faster and secure manner to the final destination. 4. CHARTERS - Under charters, the planes they serve the shippers on single voyage basis under one of any two conditions- If the goods to be shipped do not fit into the aircraft because either they are too heavy or too large to be loaded. In those cases, the shipper will charter a heavy lift cargo to accommodate and transport the cargo to the destination. The second condition the cargo needs to reach its destination quickly and using regular aircraft will delay the process, so in such case, the shipper has to charter an airplane to get the cargo quickly transported. Example of such cargo include “Just in time” materials for manufacturing. 5. MILITARY JETS/AIRCRAFT - The military jets are mainly used for war and other crucial situations and used for transportation of military cargo to destinations where normal aircraft are not allowed to enter. They are used for transporting military personnel from one location to either location of war or military hub. These aircraft are equipped with special machines and other ammunition already installed for war, it carries the capacity to accommodate one or two pilots. In the end, there are various aircrafts available for various purposes depending on the nature of passengers, cargo and environment to be transported and where to be transported.