Atlas picks up 747s freed from Volga dispute

Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings has secured what will be the final four 747-8Fs to roll out of Boeing’s assembly line and will receive them from May through October 2022 [FATs 005871-5874]. [caption id="attachment_415219" align="alignright" width="560"] Atlas currently has ten 747-8Fs. (Photo/Atlas Air)[/caption] The new aircraft ordered by Atlas became available following Russia-based Volga-Dnepr Group’s dispute with Boeing last year. As of January 2020, Volga-Dnepr had four 747-8Fs on order, but informed Boeing it would not be able to finance the first of those (63784), scheduled for delivery in February. In June, Boeing was given legal approval to proceed with remarketing unit 63784, with UPS emerging as the new owner. However, in taking up unit 63784, UPS also cancelled one of its own 747-8Fs on order in May. The integrator’s net total 747-8F orders therefore remained unchanged at twenty-eight aircraft. As of Jan. 12, UPS has eight 747-8Fs left to be delivered. Since the reassignment of unit 63784 to UPS, the status of the three remaining frames allocated to Volga-Dnepr had been in limbo, though Cargo Facts believed Boeing would likely remarket the airframes to another operator. As of Dec. 31, 2020, Boeing’s backlog still reflected Volga-Dnepr’s order, but the three 747-8Fs were removed under the ASC 606 accounting standard, meaning their eventual delivery was in question. It is likely Boeing would have offered the four 747-8Fs to major operators of the type such as Cargolux and Cathay, each with fourteen. UPS is the largest operator but declined to order more from Boeing last year, according to CEO Carol Tome. Atlas declined to comment on plans for the aircraft, which according to a press release could replace some of the carrier’s older 747-400Fs the leases of which will be up for renewal over the next several years. Atlas’ fleet includes ten 747-8Fs and thirty-four 747-400Fs, including six -8Fs and five -400Fs operated by Polar Air Cargo. At the end of 2019, the carrier had nineteen leased 747-400Fs and two leased converted 747-400Fs. In the first half of 2020, Atlas returned a production 747-400F (29258) that was then bought by Western Global Airlines. Atlas Air is on course for a very profitable 2020, after securing new long-term charter contracts and increasing ACMI flying. In the third quarter, the group generated an adjusted net income that was almost nine times higher than a year ago.

Atlas picks up 747s freed from Volga dispute

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