Flying freight in Alaska is different

In rugged, rural, remote Alaska, nine cargo airlines fight it out for freight in a state bigger than California, Texas and Montana combined, with a coastline longer than Maine to Miami. But rivals can also be partners when it comes to delivering time-critical freight to the Alaskan wilderness.

In rugged, rural, remote Alaska, nine cargo airlines fight it out for freight in a state bigger than California, Texas and Montana combined, with a coastline longer than Maine to Miami. But when there is trouble getting a time-critical oversized load to a snow-buried village, rival carriers pitch in to help a competitor make the delivery.

In mid-October, in response to violent storms and flooding that devastated communities along the state’s western coast, Northern Air Cargo (NAC), Alaska Air Cargo (a subsidiary of Seattle -based Alaska Airlines), Everts Air Cargo, Grant Aviation, Lynden Air Cargo and Ryan Air all teamed up to fly donated supplies between Anchorage and Bethel where local disaster relief organizations distributed goods to stranded Alaskans.

These freighters are only part of the all-air cargo fleets operating in the sprawling 49th state. The others include Bering Air and Wright Air Services.

Interestingly, the nine carriers give shippers, forwarders and consignees a variety of logistical services that range from scheduled and charter flights to ground deliveries and in several cases, flights to the ‘Lower 48.’ Plus, Alaska Airlines ‘passenger airplanes’, separate from its two Boeing 737-800F freighters and three B-737-700F freighters, also have belly capacity to and from 120 destinations beyond Alaska, it says.

(Shippers and forwarders with good memories remember when Alaska Airlines flew its legendary combis which were passenger planes by day and, with the seats removed, were converted to freighters for intra Alaska flights by night).

Northern Air Cargo

Still, the largest air carrier, by tonnage hauled within Alaska and likely the most versatile freighter operator within the state, is an airline little-known in the Lower 48 called Northern Air Cargo (NAC). Based in Anchorage, it is owned by low-profile, Seattle headquartered Saltchuk Aviation, a privately-held diversified family of cargo transportation, leasing and maintenance companies.

They include the aforementioned Ryan Air, Northern Air Maintenance Services (NAMS), NAS Aircraft Leasing Services, Saltchuk Aviation Shared Services, ALOHA Tech Ops and Aloha Air Cargo, a 737 freighter-operator connecting the Hawaiian Islands. But Northern Air Cargo is the jewel of Saltchuk Aviation and the grandaddy of pure cargo carriers in Alaska. It was launched in 1956 by Alaskans Robert “Bobby” Sholton and Maurice Carlson who operated Sholton and Carlson as a charter freight airline using two prop-powered Fairchild C-82 Packets.

There was no scheduled service; the planes took off when they were filled with freight. (Rival Alaska lines began earlier, in 1932, as McGee Airways, but started as a three-seat passenger airline, not an exclusive freight hauler.

History aside, 2025 was a newsworthy year for Northern Air Cargo. In October, Saltchuk Aviation shut down NAC’s leased 767-300F wide-bodied freighter to, it said, “streamline” and focus on the 737s.

Also, last October, Northern Air Cargo began a new non-stop cargo route between Seattle -Tacoma International Airport (SEA) and Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC) with three departures weekly, providing same-day freshness to rural Alaska. “We’re offering a tool for businesses and communities to partner with an experience Alaskan cargo carrier that puts customer service first,” said Northern Air Cargo president Dave Karp in the announcement press release. “Many NAC employes grew up in rural Alaska and we understand the need for same day rural delivery.”

Towns like Nome and Kotzebue, located literally at the top of the world, can now get freight from Seattle in as quick as 12 hours versus 24 to 36 hours before the new direct route opened.

Other remote communities like Utqiagvik, (formerly known as Barrow) situated above the Arctic Circle, and Bethel, an off-road hub for 56 native villages and the biggest town in Western Alaska with the state’s third largest airport and accessible only by air and river, are now reached from Seattle in 18 hours. That compares with 24 to 36 hours previously, depending on the combination of transit modes used.

Southbound Freight

The route is a boon for Alaska businesses shipping fresh products southbound to Pacific Northwest markets, NAC officials contend.

Plus, air shipping is swifter and simplified with NAC’s direct route, airline officials claim. One airwaybill covers the Seattle to rural Alaska flight, no prior account is needed to get started and “customers will always reach a real person and not a call center,” promises an NAC spokeswoman, who adds that NAC also has its own cold chain preservation system for perishables and medicines.

The Seattle to rural Alaska freight moves on NAC’s Boeing 737-800 freighter. The all-cargo airline currently operates five 737 freighters that includes a mix of 737s series 300 and 400s. Last year, NAC teamed up with its sister company, Ryan Air, on shipments to rural villages in its network.

Not surprisingly, most of Northern Air Cargo’s 250 employees are long-time or native Alaskans. Gideon Garcia, NAC’s vice president of cargo, has been with the airline for nine years but has worked in the state for 31 years. “I’m still a cheechako, kinda new to Alaska compared to those who have lived here their whole lives.” he tells the American Journal of Transportation in an exclusive interview.

Flying Freight in Alaska is Different

Garcia says NAC has five 737 jet freighters with payloads ranging from 26,000 to 47,000 pounds depending on runway conditions in rural Alaska.

“Northern Air Cargo and Alaskan Air Cargo fly similar jet freighters within the state, but NAC has staked out its own niche, says Garcia. “We specialize in oversized equipment—lumber, building materials, dangerous goods, hazmat materials, explosives, chemicals - things that are necessary for industry across Alaska. We handle them calmly, coolly, professionally,” he maintains.

What makes the state of Alaska different from America’s other 49 states is that it “technically” has 242 airports, explains Garcia, but NAC only flies into a fraction of them —19 that are paved and long enough to accommodate a jet. “Currently we have scheduled service in and out of nine of what the FAA calls Part 139 airports,” he adds. NAC also serves the Red Dog Mine which has a private runway that meets FAA standards, he notes.

A major customer of Northern Air Cargo — of which it is also a co-sponsor — is the annual Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, a brutally tough up to 998-mile mush from Anchorage to Nome in often sub-zero temperatures and blinding white-out conditions. Each sled is pulled by 12 to16 Alaskan and Siberian Huskies. Says Garcia, “The race can take eight to 15-days, and we fly all sorts of cargo for it including the dogs and the sleds. We help ship the burled wooden arch for the finish line which is like a 25-foot-long piece of wood. NAC flies outsize materials for other dog sled races in the state as well, he says.

Asked if NAC sliced into Alaska Air Cargo’s market when it launched its Seattle to Anchorage non-stop flight, Garcia said no. “We’re providing a service they don’t in the oversize market”. However, he contends NAC’s new Seattle to Anchorage nonstop route “can also put normal freight into a container or unit load device (ULD).”

Most recently, Garcia says there has been an “increase in oil drilling activity on the North Slope and NAC is flying vehicles and geotechnical drilling rigs” into Deadhorse, Alaska where the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System starts. “We’re very excited about that because Alaska is a resource extraction heavy state, just what we handle.”

Air Freight Service: Alaskans for Alaskans

The NAC official says the airline would like to add new freighter aircraft to its fleet, likely more 737s. They have payloads up to 46 million pounds, are reliable and plentiful in the marketplace, says Garcia. But no acquisition decisions have been made. “Still, we are also keeping our eyes open if there is a new aircraft in the market,” he adds.

Meanwhile, Northern Air Cargo concentrates on developing and deepening relationships with shippers and forwarders and it has paid dividends in long-term partnerships, airline officials say. Several of NAC’s customers contacted by AJOT agree.

“They make you feel like family when you’re working with them and we’ve worked with them 30 years,” says Aaron Burmeister, CEO and general manager of Tumet Industries, a large construction company that builds and rebuilds roads, highways, runways in Western Alaska. “Over the years, we’ve used all the air freight carriers but the one we count on is usually Northern Air.”

Born and raised in Alaska, Burmeister, 50, says when Typhoon Merbok hit Western Alaska in 2022 and damaged homes and infrastructures in 21 remote villages and communities, Tumit hired NAC jet freighters and extra flights to fly in oversized materials for projects, heavy parts for equipment and rebuilding. Also hired were turboprop partners Ryan Air and Bering Air to make deliveries to smaller airports at or near the sites. Says the Tumit CEO, “NAC’s slogan is ‘Teamwork That Delivers.’”

Oil and gas rich North Slope Borough, the northernmost borough in the US, covering 94,000 square miles, “has no paved roads, only ice gravel roads and the harshest conditions and climates you will find in the world,” David Fauske, its deputy director of government and external affairs, based in Utqiagvik, formerly Barrow, told the AJOT in an interview.

Northern Air Cargo and Alaska Air Cargo vie for oversize freight ranging from vehicles, construction equipment and components, power generators to delicate and time sensitive freight including groceries and produce. The biggest or oddly shaped shipments “tend to go to NAC,” says Fauske. He said the North Slope Borough’s “best” search and rescue helicopter was grounded earlier this year when a “long and frail” helicopter blade was damaged. NAC flew in a replacement.

According to Fauske, Northern Air Cargo and Ryan Air are “two of the most loved and beloved companies up here. And NAC is a great company run by Alaskans for Alaskans.”

The Difference

The business of air cargo in the Lower 48 is precise, regulated, disciplined where freight usually rides in passenger-jet bellies or in cargo planes, except where giant retailers own and operate scheduled freighters that take off and land on manicured runways.

But in Alaska, near the top of the world, jet, turbo and single prop pilots with loads of guts and decades of experience, throttle forward full or chartered freighters often on short strips of gravel and snow in fierce weather that makes the heart pound. Simply put, flying freight in Alaska is different.