And still more 767 freighters for Cargojet

Canadian all-cargo carrier Cargojet is buying more 767s.

It was only a week ago that we published the news that Cargojet had begun expanding its fleet in preparation for servicing the Canada Post/Purolator contract that will go into effect next year. With the lease of two 767-200Fs from Air Transport Services Group, Cargojet doubled its widebody fleet from two freighters to four – all 767-200Fs leased from ATSG.

At the time, we said we believed the carrier would add more 767 freighters, likely -300Fs, and now, just seven days later, that is what has happened. Cargojet is purchasing two 767-300BCFs from Guggenheim Aviation Partners (GAP).

These are two of the three ex-Thomson Airways 767-300s acquired by GAP in late 2012, all slated for conversion by Boeing to BCF freighter configuration. GAP leased the first (26256) to Denmark-based Star Air in March of this year, and has now found a home for the other two. Conversion of one (26064) is already completed, and that freighter will likely be handed over to Cargojet next week, following some predelivery work. The other (26063) is in the final stages of conversion at ST Aero’s Paya Lebar facility in Singapore and is expected to be redelivered to GAP and then onward to Cargojet by the end of this month.

And if you remember last week’s post on Cargojet (click here if you haven’t read it), we noted that the term of the leases on the two 767-200Fs was unusual. “Up to three years” was the way ATSG described it. We believe that this is because Cargojet is looking to upgrade its 767-200Fs to -300Fs and that once it acquires these -300Fs, it will return the -200Fs.  Whether these new 767-300Fs will be conversions (both Boeing and M&B Conversions have active 767-300 P-to-F programs) or whether Cargojet will lease or buy a used freighter, is not known. In theory, the carrier could even order new-build 767-300ERFs from Boeing, but this seems unlikely.