National Airlines awakens 747F from seven-year slumber

[caption id="attachment_414306" align="alignright" width="460"] Unit 26547 had been parked in Marana since 2013 and was acquired by National last May. (Photo: National Airlines)[/caption] Florida-headquartered National Airlines has brought a 747-400BCF (26547, ex-Cathay Pacific) out of long-term storage at Marana (MZJ) and will soon deploy it into service. The aircraft, which had been parked at MZJ since 2013, was ferried July 27 to San Antonio (SAT) where, according to National, it will undergo heavy maintenance for approximately forty-five days. This is likely to be carried out at the VT San Antonio Aerospace facility at SAT. Unit 26547 was acquired by National Airlines in May 2019, along with two other ex- Cathay Pacific 747-400BCFs (25068 and 27217). The carrier, which already has two active 747-400BCFs (25238 and 25302, both ex-Air France), couldn’t immediately be reached for comment on whether it also plans to reactivate units 25068 and 27217, but had previously told Cargo Facts earlier this year that it was securing engines for the three aircraft and working on getting them operational. In a similar move, China Airlines took one of its 747-400Fs (30762) out of long-term storage last August, after having parked it in Victorville (VCV) in February 2012. That aircraft later turned out to be heading to ASL Airlines Belgium on lease. The first half of 2020 saw a number of 747 freighter reactivations and transactions. Atlas Air brought three of four parked, converted 747-400Fs (24833, 26557, and 27174) back into service; CargoLogicAir resumed operations with its two 747-400Fs (32870 and 33749) in April; Western Global Airlines acquired a 747-400F (29258, ex-Atlas Air) that had been parked at MZJ since January; Aerotranscargo acquired two 747-400BCFs (24458 and 24459, both ex-Thai Cargo) and put one of them into service in May; while Cargolux acquired a 747-400F (35170) from CargoLogicAir and put it into service in May. More recently, Bermuda-based Longtail Aviation launched freighter operations with a 747-400F (27503, ex-Cargolux) leased from Aquiline International , which had acquired the aircraft earlier this year, while Air Atlanta Icelandic is growing its fleet with two leased 747-400Fs (26563 and 28263). But other 747 freighters continue to spend their time in storage, with Cargo Facts counting multiple units that remain parked but could reasonably be reactivated: Two Saudia Cargo 747-8Fs (37562 and 37563), both of which have been parked in Jeddah (JED) since January 2020; A Cargolux 747-400F (29731), which last flew on June 26, and has been seen in Luxembourg (LUX) with its titles removed; Two 747-400Fs (36784 and 36785) Russia-based AirBridgeCargo returned off lease , both of which have been stored in Teruel, Spain (TEV) since May; An Atlas Air 747-400BDSF (27062) that was parked at MZJ in December 2019; A Cathay Pacific 747-400BCF (25152) which was retired and ferried to MZJ at the end of September 2019; Two 747-400BDSFs (24998 and 25075) previously in service with Air Cargo Global and parked in Liege (LGG) since October and December 2019 , respectively; Unit 24458, the other ex-Thai Cargo aircraft Aerotranscargo previously told Cargo Facts would be dry-leased to Moldova-based Terra Avia to operate later this year, as unit 24459 was; An Asiana Airlines 747-400BDSF (25452), which has been parked at VCV since 2017; and Two China Airlines 747-400Fs (30760 and 30761) that have been parked at VCV since 2012.

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