Atlas to buy three 777Fs from Guggenheim Aviation Partners

Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings (AAWW) entered into an agreement to purchase three 777Fs from Guggenheim Aviation Partners (GAP). No date for completion of the agreement has been announced, but an Atlas spokesperson said the company hoped to finalize the acquisition soon. Guggenheim’s three 777Fs are currently on long-term dry lease to Netherlands-based express company TNT, and while Atlas declined to name the lessee, it did confirm that the purchase would be made with the leases attached, and that the freighters would be managed by its dry-leasing subsidiary Titan Aviation Leasing.

AAWW already owns three 777Fs, purchased this year with dry leases attached (two to AeroLogic and one to Emirates). Assuming the purchase of the Guggenheim aircraft is completed, it will bring AAWW’s 777F fleet to six units, continuing AAWW’s planned expansion of its dry-leasing business in general and the expansion of its 777F fleet in particular.

Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings’ core business has always been ACMI leasing, and when asked whether it planned to add 777F operation to its ACMI portfolio, the company said that while such a move might make sense in the future, for now its focus would remain on dry leasing the type.