9 idle 747-400s likely to return to service

After being out of action for almost a year and a half, Turkey-based ACT Airlines’ production 747-400F (26559, ex-Singapore Airlines), which suffered a tail strike in February 2020 , has finally returned to service. The carrier told Cargo Facts earlier this year that it expected the 747 to begin flying in May, and has confirmed that all repairs are now complete. It will operate unit 26559 in charter service in the short term. [caption id="attachment_416122" align="alignright" width="560"] Unit 26559 was in a tail-strike incident early last year. (Photo/ACT Airlines)[/caption] Unit 26559, which flew to Nur-Sultan (NQZ) on June 17, had been ferried from Jeddah (JED) to Istanbul (SAW) Jan. 6 for maintenance at the myTechnic MRO facility. ACT initially carried out repairs at JED, where the 747 had diverted after taking off from Dammam (DMM) Feb. 1, 2020, while in ACMI service for Saudia. ACT has four other 747-400Fs in ACMI service for Turkish Airlines: two production -400ERFs (32866 and 32867, both ex-Air France) and two -400BDSFs (25641 and 25645, both ex-ANA) previously operated for Saudia. Unit 26559 isn’t the only 747 reentering the market to relieve some of the high demand for main-deck capacity. Elsewhere, Cargo Facts believes several more 747-400s of various types are likely set to join the active in-service fleet worldwide. Units 30760 and 30761 (ex-China Airlines) Taiwan-based China Airlines has had two low-cycle production 747-400Fs with General Electric CF6-80C2 engines stored in Victorville (VCV) for nearly a decade — but a plan to revive the freighters is in the works. During the pandemic-fueled freighter bonanza, China Airlines had considered inducting them back into its own in-service fleet but has ultimately decided to put the aircraft back into the leasing market , said VP of Cargo Eddy Liu at Cargo Facts Asia in April. China Airlines made a similar move in late 2019 by bringing unit 30762 out of the desert and leasing it to ASL Airlines Belgium. Unit 32804 (ex-China Southern Airlines) In May of last year, China Southern Airlines grew its 777F fleet to fourteen units following the delivery of two 777Fs in May. The Guangzhou-based carrier continued to operate two 747-400Fs (32803 and 32804) during the height of the capacity crunch, but gradually shifted scheduled flights to the twin-engine 777Fs. After storing both 2002-vintage 747-400Fs toward the end of 2020, in April 2021 China Southern brought unit 32803 into ACMI service for China Central Longhao Airlines, for flights between Zhengzhou (CGO) and Brussels (BRU). Unit 32804 remains parked in Guangzhou (CAN), where it has been idle since September 2020. As a relatively young production freighter, it is unlikely to stay parked for long. Longhao has previously outlined plans to grow its large widebody freighter fleet, and Cargo Facts would not be surprised to see the carrier wet lease the second freighter as well — or even acquire the pair. Longhao did not respond to a request to comment, and China Southern declined to comment. Unit 25152 (ex-Cathay Pacific) Cathay Pacific retired this 1991-vintage 747-400BCF with Rolls-Royce RB211 engines and sent it to Marana (MZJ) in 2019, but U.A.E.-based Aquiline International acquired the aircraft earlier this year . Unit 25152 currently appears to be at the FMS facility in Kansas City (MCI) for maintenance. Aquiline, for its part, recently also acquired three ex-Transaero 747-400s that could head for conversion into freighters. Unit 25205 (ex-Korean Air) After around eight years of storage in Marana (MZJ), this 1991-vintage 747-400BCF left the desert and flew to San Bernardino (SBD), where it is being prepared for a relief flight to India, according to U.A.E-based Sky One, along with other industry partners, including Boeing and FedEx. Sky One, which recently added its first 737-400SF (27914, ex-LOT) on lease from Vx Capital Partners and placed it with Saudi Arabia-based Aviation Horizons for CMI operation, did not comment on whether unit 25205 is joining its fleet. Unit 27063 (ex-EVA Air) Images of this 1992-vintage 747-400BDSF, which has been in Mojave (MHV) since 2017, recently surfaced, showing it slowly being restored using parts from a passenger 747-400 (28284, ex-Lufthansa) — built in 1997 and with CF6-80C2 engines — that had arrived at MHV in November 2020. Unit 27063 may take to the sky again by the end of the year, but at this stage the identity of its new owner is unclear. Units 29406 (ex-Virgin Atlantic), 30454 and 28460 (both ex-KLM) While these three 747-400s are not full freighters, they will soon fly in cargo-only configuration and may even end up being converted. Unit 29406, which was removed from service in March 2020 and placed into storage, made a pitstop in Tel Aviv (TLV) in December 2020 for maintenance by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and arrived at London Stansted (STN) in late April 2021 for interior modifications. JetOneX, which confirmed to Cargo Facts that it owns the aircraft, announced earlier this week that Bermuda-based Longtail Aviation will begin operating the 747 on scheduled flights between Dubai (DXB) and Istanbul (IST). At the same time, JetOneX also owns units 30454 and 28460, two of the three 747-400 Combis that KLM retired last year. While unit 30454 is undergoing maintenance at TLV, unit 28460 left storage in Teruel (TEV) and arrived in Sharjah (SHJ) today, presumably for maintenance at the VD Gulf facility where a JetOneX 747-400BCF (24975, ex-Rubystar Airways) is also undergoing maintenance. Additionally, Cargo Facts believes JetOneX — formerly known as CargoJetX — also owns the third KLM 747-400 Combi (28459) and has already reserved a Bermudan registration for it. That aircraft is currently at MCI, where it arrived in December 2020.

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