Cargojet

When parcels travel from coast to coast in Canada at night, Cargojet is very often behind it. The cargo airline from Ontario is a rewarding but unusual target for spotters: its aircraft fly almost exclusively in the dark, many of its flights run on behalf of other companies – and since 2025 its 767 freighters also land regularly in Europe. Here you learn how Cargojet ticks and how to recognize its aircraft.

Cargojet at a glance

Cargojet is Canada’s largest cargo airline. The company headquarters is in Mississauga near Toronto, but the operational heart beats at John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport, a bit farther southwest in Hamilton. This is where cargo from all over Canada is transferred at night. According to Cargojet, the airline moves more than 25 million pounds of cargo every week, that is, well over 11,000 metric tons.

The roots go back to 2001. That year Canada 3000 Cargo came about as a joint venture with the charter airline Canada 3000. When the latter collapsed shortly afterward, founder Ajay Virmani took over the cargo business completely in 2002 and gave it the name Cargojet. The logistics company Winnport was added in the same year, and the stock market listing in Toronto followed in 2005. Since January 1, 2026, Pauline Dhillon, who was already part of the founding team, has led the company as CEO; Virmani is Executive Chairman.

Unlike passenger airlines such as Air Canada or WestJet, Cargojet does not sell tickets. The business rests on three pillars: its own overnight domestic network, flights on behalf of big logistics customers (ACMI and CMI) and charter flights worldwide.

Codes and callsign

• IATA code W8: appears in flight numbers of Cargojet’s own services and in cargo bookings.
• ICAO code CJT: appears in the air traffic control flight plan and on flight trackers.
• Callsign CARGOJET: this is how the crew identifies itself on the radio.

The ICAO code CJT is also the ticker symbol of the parent company Cargojet Inc. on the Toronto Stock Exchange – a handy memory aid. Note, however: on flights Cargojet operates on behalf of a customer, the flight may run under a different flight number. Then the registration helps you more than the display on the tracker.

The fleet: 757 and 767 as freighters

Cargojet flies exclusively Boeing. According to Cargojet, the fleet comprises 42 freighters in September 2026. Three types are listed on the airline’s website; the exact split fluctuates because Cargojet buys, converts, leases out or gives up aircraft. For orientation: the largest group is the 767-300, followed by the 757-200; the 767-200 is represented by only a few examples.

Type	Role at Cargojet	Spotter tip
Boeing 757-200 (freighter conversion)	Domestic network, smaller stations	Slender narrowbody, long landing gear
Boeing 767-200 (freighter conversion)	Domestic network	Short widebody jet, smallest group in the fleet
Boeing 767-300 (freighter conversion)	Backbone for domestic, customers and charter	Long widebody fuselage

Almost all aircraft are converted passenger aircraft bought second-hand. That is typical for cargo airlines: an older passenger jet gets a large cargo door on the left side, the windows are blanked off and the interior is converted into a cargo deck. If you look closely, you can often still recognize the former window rows as covers in the fuselage. In the past Boeing 727s were also part of the fleet – they were retired long ago and are now only historic.

You will find more on telling freighters apart in general in the guide Recognizing freighter aircraft.

And the Boeing 777?

You often read that Cargojet also flies the 777. That is not correct. In January 2021 Cargojet announced it would expand the fleet with long-range Boeing 777 freighters in addition to more 767 freighters. With them the airline wanted to serve mainly longer international routes.

In January 2024 Cargojet pulled the plug: because of significantly weaker international cargo demand, the airline withdrew from its commitments for the four 777s still outstanding. According to its own statements, however, it secured rights to future conversion slots in order to be able to react if the market improves. As of October 2026 no 777 is in service at Cargojet. If you see a Boeing 777F with a Canadian registration, it very likely belongs to a different airline.

The overnight network: Canada overnight

The heart of Cargojet is the overnight domestic network. You know the principle from parcel services: in the evening the aircraft pick up the shipments in the cities, fly them to the Hamilton hub, where they are resorted, and before morning everything goes back to the destination regions. The network connects Canada’s big cities from St. John’s to Vancouver. Besides Hamilton, according to reference works, Calgary, Montréal-Mirabel, Vancouver and Winnipeg are among the most important nodes.

The big anchor customer for years has been Canada Post with its subsidiary Purolator; according to its own statements, Cargojet extended the contract in 2023 through 2029. Add connections to the far north: with Canadian North Cargojet cooperates on cargo to the Arctic, for example to Iqaluit.

Flying for others: DHL and Amazon

A large part of the business runs on behalf of others. With ACMI, Cargojet provides aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance; with CMI, Cargojet flies an aircraft that belongs to the customer.

DHL is one of the most important partners here. Cargojet has flown aircraft on behalf of DHL for years, including on routes beyond the Canadian border. In 2022 both concluded another multi-year contract. In August 2025 Cargojet and DHL reaffirmed their long-term partnership.

Cargojet also flies for Amazon in Canada under a transport contract. In July 2025 this contract was extended to March 2029, and Amazon can extend it to March 2031. For you that means: a Cargojet flight can run on behalf of Amazon, and customer flights are not always recognizable by the livery. You will find more on the Amazon cargo fleet at Amazon Air.

Add charter flights around the world. Since May 2024, for example, a three-year charter series has been running between Hangzhou in China and Vancouver with 767-300 freighters, at least three times a week. Cargojet gave up a minority stake in the US cargo airline 21 Air from Miami again in April 2026.

How to recognize Cargojet

The livery alone is not a reliable feature at Cargojet because aircraft sometimes fly in customers’ colors for them. More reliable are these points:

• Type: Cargojet flies only Boeing 757s and 767s. An Airbus or a 747 is never Cargojet.
• Registration: Cargojet aircraft are registered in Canada and carry a registration with C-. More on the system is explained in the guide Understanding aircraft registrations.
• Callsign and code: CJT on the tracker, “CARGOJET” on the radio.
• Time of day: A large share of movements falls at night.

If you cannot yet reliably tell the 757 and 767 apart, the comparison Telling the Boeing 757 and 767 apart helps.

Spotting Cargojet in Europe

For a long time Cargojet was a rare visitor for spotters in Europe. That has changed: since November 1, 2025 Cargojet has linked Belgium’s Liège Airport directly with its Canadian network, at first once a week on the weekend. Since September 23, 2026 there has also been a Wednesday flight on the route Hamilton–Halifax–Liège–Hamilton according to Cargojet, flown with a Boeing 767.

Liège is a cargo airport with a lot of traffic at night and on weekends anyway. How to get photos there is shown in the spot guide Spotting at Liège cargo airport. Because many movements take place in the dark, a look at Photographing aircraft at night is worthwhile.

In the past Cargojet also turned up at other European airports, for example with connections to Cologne/Bonn and Katowice. Such routes change often, though – check the current schedule before every trip.

Incidents

A well-known incident occurred on November 19, 2024 in Vancouver: a Cargojet 767-300 freighter operating on behalf of Amazon overran the runway end on landing. Nobody was injured, but the aircraft was substantially damaged.

Common mix-ups

• Logging Cargojet with a 777 – the planned 777 freighters were canceled in 2024, and only 757s and 767s are in service.
• Taking every DHL 767 for Cargojet – DHL works with several partner airlines; the registration shows who is flying.
• Automatically attributing Amazon flights in Canada to Amazon – in Canada Cargojet also flies on behalf of Amazon; in your log the operating airline belongs with it.
• Confusing W8 with CJT – W8 is the IATA code for flight numbers, CJT the ICAO code for trackers and air traffic control.
• Confusing Cargojet with Air Canada Cargo – Air Canada is primarily a passenger airline with its own cargo division, while Cargojet is a pure cargo airline with the code CJT.

Conclusion

Cargojet is the backbone of Canadian air cargo: an all-Boeing fleet of 757 and 767 freighters, an overnight network with a hub in Hamilton and strong partners such as Canada Post, Amazon and DHL. For spotters in Europe the airline has become tangible since the Liège connection – if you stand there at night or on the weekend, you have good chances of a Canadian freighter in your logbook.