Jørgen Holme, CEO of Denmark-based Jet Time, announced that his airline would end cargo operations, with the phase-out taking place “in a controlled process during 2017.”
Jet Time currently operates five 737-400Fs on an ACMI basis for ASL Airlines Belgium in support of TNT Express in Europe. Two of the five are leased from Kahala Aviation, two from Vx Capital Partners, and one from West Atlantic Aircraft Management. The fate of these freighters is yet to be determined (the company said: “several options are still being investigated”), but since the 737-400F is in high demand worldwide, and since TNT business is not likely to disappear, the five freighters should quickly find new homes.
Along with the cargo business, Jet Time will also jettison its passenger ACMI operations for SAS. According to the statement: “The changes are made as part of the extensive turnaround plan that Jet Time has been working on the past year. The focus has been on improving the airlines financial situation by a reduction of complexity in its production, but also the business areas with four different segments has proved too complex. The airline therefore now takes the next step to also simplify the business platform.”
That simplification will leave Jet Time with its core passenger charter business, plus some ACMI flying, with a fleet of eight 737-700 passenger aircraft.