Choosing the right cargo aircraft usually comes down to three questions: how much your shipment weighs, how large or awkwardly shaped it is, and how far it needs to travel. The table below answers all three at once, listing every aircraft type Safe Fly Aviation can source for a cargo charter side by side. Because payload, cargo hold volume, and range trade off against each other on every airframe, comparing them directly is often more useful than looking at any single aircraft on its own.

How to Read This Comparison

Each row lists the aircraft's maximum payload, total cargo volume, range, cargo door or ramp dimensions, cruise speed, and typical loading method. For example, a narrowbody freighter like the Boeing 737-800BCF trades payload and volume for lower cost and access to smaller regional airports, while a heavy-lift type like the Antonov An-124 or Ilyushin IL-76TD trades cost and speed for the ability to move oversized or unusually heavy freight. Every aircraft is operated by an appropriately licensed Air Operator Certificate (AOC) holder, since Safe Fly Aviation coordinates charters through a network of vetted operators rather than running a fixed fleet of its own.

You'll also notice the Antonov An-225 Mriya included further down, even though it was destroyed in 2022 and can no longer be chartered. It remains the largest cargo aircraft ever built, and we've kept it here as a historical reference point rather than removing it and losing that context.