USPS moving mail to trucks and cargo aircraft

The US Postal Service may start shifting more mail from passenger airlines to trucks and cargo aircraft, says the Wall Street Journal, which in a recent report cited tighter FAA security regulations on passenger aircraft as the reason for the shift.

USPS is already moving about 10% of U.S. mail by aircraft, down from about 25%.

As USPS is one of the largest cargo customers to commercial airlines, a reduction in business will have a significant effect on passenger airlines’ revenue even as business may start looking up for cargo carriers.

Mail and other cargo for the passenger carriers is generally handled as a byproduct, but also contributes to the revenue of the flight so that fewer passengers are needed on the plane to break even.