Airlines Maximize Belly-Hold Cargo in 2025

In 2025, passenger aircraft belly-hold space continues to be a cornerstone of global air cargo, making up over half of total capacity. According to IATA, belly-hold accounted for about 54.6% of all air cargo capacity in April 2025, while dedicated freighters contributed the rest.

Interestingly, freighter capacity is growing slightly faster (7.1% year-over-year) than belly space (6.9%) this year.

Playing to Their Strengths

For many carriers, belly-hold capacity offers an efficient, lower-cost means to transport goods alongside passenger revenue. As one observer noted in an online discussion:

In costing terms belly cargo space is practically free. Modern widebodies only use a third or less of their cargo hold for passenger bags and the marginal cost of a pound of cargo is really low.

Air freight Rates Hold Steady As They Go Through Turbulence

This underscores why leveraging unused belly space remains both financially and operationally attractive for airlines.

Etihad Airways - Expanding and Optimizing Belly-Hold Capacity

Etihad Cargo has taken a proactive approach to maximize belly-hold utilization in 2025 by enhancing its belly-cargo offering with strategic scheduling and route expansion.

Increased Weekly Belly-Hold Flights: By October 2025, Etihad Cargo will provide belly-hold capacity on over 880 passenger flights per week, with plans to expand further to 1,000 weekly flights by March 2026.

New and Enhanced Routes: The expanded winter schedule includes new destinations like Hanoi, Hong Kong, and Taipei, along with increased frequencies to markets such as Lisbon, Manchester, Warsaw, Atlanta, and Bangkok.

Between November 2025 and March 2026, Etihad will gradually launch services to 16 new destinations, including cities across Africa, Europe, Central Asia, and Southeast Asia.

By leveraging passenger aircraft capacity and diversifying its network, Etihad enhances flexibility and connectivity, turning underutilized space into valuable logistic real estate.

Emirates - Blending Freighters and Belly-Hold Assets

Emirates SkyCargo continues to leverage belly-hold capacity as a vital component of its cargo strategy, complementing its robust freighter operations.

Wide Network Access: As of 2025, Emirates SkyCargo operates dedicated Boeing 777 freighters on 26 routes and has access to belly-hold capacity across an additional 61 passenger destinations.

Boosting Capacity in 2025: Emirates announced a 15% increase in total cargo capacity into 2025 to meet rising demand, a move likely involving both freighter expansion and better utilization of belly-hold space.

Fleet Strategy: Emirates has been eyeing fleet flexibility. Plans include using a mix of aircraft such as A350s with belly-hold capacity to enhance cargo capability over the next decade.

Beyond the Gulf carriers, many other global airlines are also leaning on belly-hold capacity to strengthen cargo operations. Singapore Airlines has optimized its new A350 and 787 fleet by maximizing underfloor cargo, particularly on Asia–Europe lanes.

Lufthansa Cargo is integrating belly space from its passenger network to complement freighter capacity, enabling more flexible transatlantic shipments.

Broader Trends in 2025

Increasingly airlines are realising the benefits of a more proactive dual-path operational model. Maintaining freighters while tapping into passenger flight belly capacity enables agile responses to shifting cargo demand without over-relying on any single mode.

Despite belly-hold capacity growing, demand is outpacing supply and according to IATA is projected to increase by 6 to 10% this year, while capacity may only expand 4 to 5%.

With more belly space becoming available, yields have softened slightly a reflection of increased capacity sometimes outpacing immediate demand.

In 2025, airlines are doubling down on belly-hold space as a strategic asset. As demand grows, balancing dedicated freighters with smart utilization of belly-hold space remains key to efficient, scalable cargo operations.

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