7Air receives FAA Part 121 AOC

7Air is the latest startup to achieve active Part 121 regularly scheduled operator status after receiving its AOC from the FAA today. With the active status transferred to the FAA’s Flight Standards District Office in Atlanta, which will oversee 7Air’s operations, the carrier, a subsidiary of Miami-based Xtreme Holdings, hopes to start domestic revenue cargo operations next week, Chief Executive Amos Rodriguez told Cargo Facts . [caption id="attachment_57149010" align="aligncenter" width="1788"] 7Air used unit 34799 for its proving runs. (Courtesy/7Air)[/caption] 7Air’s status changed from pending to active when it received confirmation from the FAA on Feb. 20, he said. The carrier must conclude a four-day waiting period before launching domestic flights with one of the two 2006-vintage 737-800SFs it leased from Aircastle in 2023 . More 737-800Fs The ex-SpiceJet unit 34799 completed its most recent flight on Feb. 4, flying from Tallahassee, Fla. (TLH), to Miami (MIA). 7Air started proving runs with the freighter in January, including to San Pedro Sula, Honduras (SAP). The other 737-800SF on lease from Aircastle (33597, ex-SpiceJet) has been in Goodyear, Ariz. (GYR), since March 2024. 7Air also has begun adding the first 737-800BCF (33471, ex-Shanghai Airlines) it leased from Spectre Air Capital to its AOC and expects to complete conformity in about three weeks, Rodriguez said. That aircraft arrived at MIA in September 2024 . 7Air has also agreed to lease a second 737-800BCF from Spectre, Rodriguez said. “We couldn’t add any of the other 737-800Fs onto the AOC until the certificate was completed,” he said, adding that the remaining aircraft will be added to the fleet in increments of three to four weeks. Rodriguez expects FAA approval for its international flight rights — which must be signed by President Donald Trump — to take a few more weeks to obtain. How it started FAA approval for the newest Part 121 operator in the United States is another achievement for Rodriguez and The Xtreme Group. Xtreme submitted a letter of intent to start the certification process for 7Air in 2021. In addition to being 7Air’s CEO, Rodriguez is vice president of Xtreme. He has more than forty-five years of maintenance and executive management experience. He started his career in aviation as a technician at IAI before becoming director of maintenance. He then founded MRO provider Miami Tech in 2001 and co-founded World Atlantic Airways in 2010. The Xtreme Group recently opened its engine MRO facility in Davie, Fla., and expects to break ground on its new maintenance facility in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (FLL), this year. Meanwhile, the group’s leasing subsidiary, Aventus Air Leasing, which has a portfolio of seven 737 Classics, recently expanded into the widebody-freighter segment with the lease of its first 767-200BDSF to Dominican Republic-based Sky High. Register now for Cargo Facts' essential regional events for industry stakeholders: Cargo Facts Asia 2025 on March 24-26 at the W Shanghai in China; and Cargo Facts EMEA 2025 on May 6-8 at the Shangri-La Bosphorus in Turkey.

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