Amazon places first owned 767-300 freighter with ATSG operator

Air Transport Services Group (ATSG) affiliate Air Transport International (ATI) has been awarded a CMI contract to operate the first 767-300BDSF that Amazon acquired outright and put through conversion on its own. ATSG confirmed to Cargo Facts that the aircraft (25274, ex-WestJet) is now registered with ATI. Unit 25274 is currently in Wilmington (ILN), having been ferried to Victorville (VCV) late February for modifications and paint after conversion in Tel Aviv (TLV). [caption id="attachment_414543" align="alignright" width="500"] Amazon acquired four ex-WestJet 767-300ERs and is in the process of converting them to freighter configuration. Photo/WestJet[/caption] For Amazon, incremental additions to its own-controlled freighter fleet have become a routine task. Unlike the other 767Fs in its operation, however, Amazon acquired and managed the conversion of unit 25274 and has so far not revealed who will operate the aircraft. Last year Amazon acquired a total of eleven 767-300ERs , four from WestJet and seven from Delta Airlines, and is having the aircraft converted to freighter configuration by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI). Amazon said in early January that the four ex-WestJet frames will enter operation in 2021 while the ex-Delta aircraft will join the network in 2022, and that it will continue to use third-party CMI operators. Amazon’s move to bypass the use of third-party lessors and aircraft management companies for aircraft procurement and conversion raised questions as to how CMI contracts for the incoming freighters would be allotted. Future deliveries could still end up with current Amazon Air 767 CMI operators, which include ATI, ABX Air and Atlas Air, or elsewhere. In the United States, Amerijet, 21 Air and Kalitta Air operate or have operated 767-300Fs on a CMI basis and Cargojet is a major operator of the 767 platform in Canada. In late February, while announcing its 2020 results, ATSG had expressed optimism that it would operate at least some of the Amazon-owned 767Fs, with CFO Quint Turner saying, “We might have a shot to fly a couple.” A few weeks after the call, Amazon exercised $132 million in warrants with ATSG on a cash basis and increased its stake in the company to 19.5%, strengthening the relationship between the two companies and highlighting ATSG carriers as Amazon’s preferred operators. In addition to the Amazon-owned aircraft that will soon enter service with ATI, ATSG’s Cargo Aircraft Management (CAM) continues to put 767-300ERs through freighter conversion that are expected to go into CMI service with ATSG affiliate carriers. Of the twelve additional leases Amazon announced last year, ATSG announced in September 2020 that ATI will operate six: one in 2020 and the others in 2021. CAM has already placed four of these with Amazon in the first quarter of 2021, with another expected before the quarter is over, according to ATSG’s recent earnings announcement: 25450 in January; 29429 in February; and 27448 and 29432 in March. Unit 27059 began flying in the network March 18 but does not appear to have been officially leased to Amazon yet, according to the Federal Aviation Administration registry. CAM will place two more 767-300Fs with Amazon between April and June, and the remaining four in the second half of the year. Cargo Facts Asia, taking place April 20-21 as a virtual experience, is the event for exploring opportunity in the Asia-Pacific region. The event continues to bring together the best, brightest, and most innovative executives in the global air cargo industry. Learn more and register at www.cargofactsasia.com .

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