Global Crossing nears deal for more A321Fs, looks at A330Fs

Miami-based Global Crossing Airlines is adding four A321 freighters to its pipeline and will soon finalize an agreement with “a major lessor” for them. The new airline, which just recently entered a lease deal with ST Engineering for five A321-200P2Fs , will have up to nineteen A321Fs under letters of intent, all arriving in the next several years. Speaking during a management update briefing on May 27, Chairman and CEO Ed Wegel said he expects to have most, if not all, nineteen freighter-converted A321Fs operating under ACMI arrangements with at least two major package companies. He also referred to ongoing discussions with three major package carriers and other cargo airlines, but did not name them. [caption id="attachment_416013" align="alignright" width="560"] GlobalX will operate both A321P2Fs and A321PCFs. (Photo/Global Crossing Airlines)[/caption] In addition to A321Fs, Wegel said that GlobalX has already started planning for widebody freighters to expand and diversify the company’s revenue streams. To that end, Global Crossing has begun negotiations with a lessor on A330-300 conversion feedstock, even if the next available conversion slots with EFW are several years out, Wegel said. Global Crossing, or GlobalX, told Cargo Facts last year that it was acquiring four A321 frames from Finnair (941, 961, 1185 and 1241) for a sale, conversion and leaseback deal with Vallair, but did not comment on the current status of the arrangement. For now, the four units, built between 1999 and 2000, remain parked in Prague (PRG). GlobalX, which is about to begin proving flights with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for its passenger operations, has completed its three-year cargo plan and expects to take delivery of its first A321F around December 2021, as part of a deal with Vallair for ten aircraft . The airline then hopes to be able to have the aircraft on its certificate by January 2022. Three more A321Fs will join the fleet in the second half of 2022. According to Wegel, Global Crossing had initially planned to receive its first A321F — an A321-200PCF converted by 321 Precision Conversions — sooner, but due to a combination of factors, including GlobalX’s own certification process and the delay in FAA certification of the A321-200PCF, the airline agreed with Vallair to push back the delivery. GlobalX’s first freighter will now likely be an A321-200P2F converted by Elbe Flugzeugwerke (EFW), likely unit 1207 (ex-Windrose Airlines), a 2000-vintage A321 currently at Vallair’s facility in Chateauroux (CHR), France. However, Wegel said the airline will eventually have a mix of A321-200P2Fs and A321-200PCFs. Vallair is the launch customer for both 321 Precision Conversions’ and EFW’s models. In March 2021, GlobalX expanded its partnership with Latvia-based SmartLynx, which itself will begin A321F operations imminently . Wegel said that, with regard to the two carriers’ freighters, the partnership may include interchange and cross-marketing opportunities. Cargo Facts EMEA, taking place June 2-3 as a virtual experience, is the event for exploring opportunity in the EMEA 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.cargofactsemea.com .

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