Preighter

The term is a portmanteau of "passenger" and "freighter" and is attributed to Lufthansa chief executive Carsten Spohr; it came to use as commercial airlines responded to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.

[1] With the cancellation of many passenger flights and the corresponding loss of capacity in holds, existing dedicated freighter aircraft were insufficient to meet demand, and the price for air cargo increased.

[4] With a loss of freight capacity and the urgent need to distribute massive amounts of personal protective equipment around the world in the fight against COVID-19, hundreds of unused passenger aircraft were temporarily employed in a freighter role.

[6] On the same year, coinciding with the lifting of the travel restrictions and the COVID-19 pandemic coming to an end, many preighters are getting reverted back to its passenger configuration.

[8] In 2021, European regulators set a limit on total flight hours for preighters out of concern that carriers might underestimate possible increased fire risks.