Pacific Air Cargo’s Tanja Janfruechte on Hawaii ACMI market

Pacific Air Cargo has been heavily involved in the relief efforts in Maui as the island recovers from the destructive wildfires in August due to a long-term ACMI arrangement with Kalitta Air for the carrier’s 747-400F capacity between Los Angeles and Honolulu.At the same time, the company has been exploring other avenues of growing its business.“We have traditionally always focused on Asia eastbound interline agreements and those agreements and partnerships are still valuable to our success,” Pacific Air Cargo Chief Executive Tanja Janfruechte says in this week’s episode of the “Cargo Facts Connect” podcast.“But this year, we’re focusing on trying to align with other airlines, not necessarily out of Asia, but Europe and Canada as well. And we’re looking into Mexico — really just trying to see if we can provide some more tail-to-tail options in and out of Hawaii.”In addition to Kalitta Air’s 747s, Pacific Air Cargo also works with Asia Pacific Airlines and wet leases that carrier’s 757-200Fs. But even with an expanding network, Pacific Air Cargo is unlikely to operate its own freighters, at least for now.“We’re always open to ideas, but the ACMI model works so well for us that right now, at least in the near future, we’re not looking to move away from that kind of model,” Janfruechte said.Tune in to this week’s podcast to learn more about Pacific Air Cargo’s plans as Janfruechte speaks with Cargo Facts Editor Jeff Lee.