ASL Airlines will soon begin flying 737-800BCFs on behalf of Amazon, becoming the newest carrier to operate aircraft painted in the e-commerce giant’s livery and the first in Europe.
The first 737-800BCF in Amazon colors that was delisted from the U.S. register and delivered to Shannon (SNN) in late September (33544, ex-Ryanair) has now been spotted bearing, as we had recently predicted, “Operated by ASL Airlines” near the cockpit windows. Until now, this label had been covered up.
Meanwhile, a second 737-800BCF (29938, ex-Ryanair) arrived in Ireland Oct. 18, also following a similarly circuitous route after conversion by Boeing in China. The aircraft flew to Osaka (KIX), Anchorage (ANC), Everett (PAE), Bangor (BGR) and Reykjavik (KEF) before landing in Ireland.
Neither Amazon nor ASL Airlines responded to requests for comment. We note that Amazon had previously confirmed plans to establish a European gateway at Leipzig Airport (LEJ).
The 737-800BCF is not a new platform for ASL, which began flying the type in 2018 and placed a firm order for ten of its own conversions with Boeing in June 2019. The group, with airlines in Ireland, Belgium, France, and Hungary, among others, already operates a range of narrowbody freighters on an ACMI basis for major players like Amazon and FedEx.
Unit 29938 is the twenty-first 737-800BCF to be delivered in Amazon’s livery.
Amazon, which placed its first five GECAS-leased 737-800BCFs with Southern Air in 2019, entered an agreement to lease fifteen more from GECAS in June 2019. Ten were handed over to Sun Country Airlines and three have been placed with Southern Air.
Another (29120, ex-Corendon Airlines) which arrived at PAE Oct. 6 is set to join Sun Country; we now know that this will be followed by unit 34030 (ex-China Xinhua Airlines), currently still in Shanghai (PVG) where it arrived in April. The two registrations reserved by Sun Country in late August can now be linked to these two aircraft, thanks to authorized registration changes recorded in the FAA registry.
The following table summarizes the Amazon 737-800BCF fleet.
Amazon 737-800BCF fleet (as of 10/19/2020)
ASL Aviation Holdings CEO Dave Andrew will be speaking at Cargo Facts Symposium 2020. While this will be presented as a virtual event, the unparalleled networking and continuing education opportunities remain, with the best and brightest minds addressing the most pressing industry issues for air cargo — including those around COVID-19. To register and for more information, visit www.cargofactssymposium.com.
