Busting at the seams: payloads bigger as Northern Air Cargo adds trio of jumbo jetliners.

• Author: Green, Ben
• Position: ALASKA BUSINESS MONTHLY'S 2007 TRANSPORTATION SECTION

How do you ship an elephant to the Bush? Why, in any one of three new Northern Air Cargos' Boeing 737-200 cargo freighters. That's how.

You could put one of those gray behemoths on a barge and wait months for it to arrive. Or you could simply crate it and stick a mailing label on it and let Northern Air Cargo worry about the loading and unloading.

The 51-year-old cargo airline recently purchased a trio of new aircraft to replace the company's existing Boeing 727 fleet. Now, they'll have more legroom.

"You name it, we've shipped it. Anything from drill bits, to Iditarod Sled Dog Race huskies, to outhouses," said NAC President and CEO William Fowler.

"These new aircraft complete our fleet's modernization plan and mark the beginning of a commitment to customers to enhance service levels and operational efficiencies at our main hubs served around Alaska."

The first of the new aircraft will fly scheduled routes, including Bethel, Nome and Kotzebue, as new procedures are implemented and efficiencies are developed faster. These aircraft are not new in the sense of having been just rolled right off the assembly line. But they are new to the NAC fleet. These 737 aircraft were once part of the Delta fleet.

"They have been converted to cargo aircraft with large cargo doors and a ULD (Unit Load Device) loading system," said Fowler, who became company president in late 2001.

Unit Load Devices are pallets and containers used to load baggage, freight, and mail on wide-body aircraft and specific narrow-body aircraft. They allow large quantities of cargo to be bundled into large units. Since this leads to fewer units to load, it saves ground crews time and effort, and helps prevent delayed flights. Each ULD is manifested separately so that its contents can be tracked. ULDs come in two forms: pallets and containers.

"Now, more than ever, air carriers need to maximize their operational efficiency and these new aircraft will do just that for us," said Dave Karp, NAC's chief operating officer.

"The twin-jet B-737s have earned an industry-wide reputation for being workhorses in delivering goods to the Bush.

"The dynamic cargo system provides greater care and flexibility for the goods shipped-especially the ULDs, which offer speed and precision in bringing freight in and out of the aircraft. If anything, these new aircraft will help in all phases."

Northern Air Cargo has no more immediate plans for further expansion, but the company is always looking for...