Aquiline acquires parked 747-400BCF

Another stored 747-400 freighter could soon reenter service, after being acquired by U.A.E.-based Aquiline International. The aircraft is unit 25152, a 1991-vintage 747-400BCF powered by Rolls-Royce RB211 engines that Cathay Pacific removed from its fleet and ferried to Marana (MZJ) at the end of September 2019. Aircraft trading specialist Jet Midwest confirmed to Cargo Facts that it had acted as consignee on behalf of the previous owner, Alta Airlines Holdings, and sold the 747 to Aquiline on March 1 [FAT 006045]. [caption id="attachment_415555" align="alignright" width="560"] Cathay retired unit 25152 in late 2019 and ferried it to Marana. (Photo/Cathay Pacific)[/caption] Unit 25152 left the desert in mid-January 2021 and was brought to Kansas City (MCI) for maintenance, most likely at the FMS facility where Aquiline had sent a 747-400F (27503, ex-Cargolux) early last year before leasing it to Bermuda-based Longtail Aviation . That production 747-400F, incidentally, had also been part of Cathay’s fleet prior to joining Cargolux in 2015. Aquiline could not be reached for comment on its plans for unit 25152. The status of a 1994-vintage 747-400BDSF (27044, ex-Air Atlanta Icelandic) equipped with Pratt & Whitney PW4000-94 engines and parked at MCI since 2017 is unclear; Alta previously also owned that aircraft, but Jet Midwest told Cargo Facts that that is no longer the case. Unit 25152 will join three other ex-Cathay Pacific 747-400BCFs (26547, 27217 and 25068) that National Airlines reactivated last year, after over seven years of storage . Meanwhile, Moldova-based Aerotranscargo expects to soon put into service an ex-Thai Airways 747-400BCF (24458), after bringing it out of long-term storage in early February to the GMF AeroAsia facility in Jakarta (CGK) for maintenance. Cargo Facts believes there are now less than a handful of 747-400Fs left in storage that could feasibly be brought back into service, most notably an Asiana Airlines 747-400BDSF (25452), parked in Victorville (VCV) since 2017, and two China Airlines nose-loading 747-400Fs (30760 and 30761), parked at VCV since 2012. China Airlines recently told Cargo Facts that it had not yet reached a firm decision on reactivating the two frames. At the same time, the two Saudia Cargo 747-8Fs (37562 and 37563) that have been parked in Jeddah (JED) since January 2020 continue to be grounded. Cargo Facts Asia, taking place April 20-21 as a virtual experience, is the event for exploring opportunity in the Asia-Pacific region. The event continues to bring together the best, brightest, and most innovative executives in the global air cargo industry. Learn more and register at www.cargofactsasia.com .

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