Podcast: Chex Air plans A300-600F launch in 2026

Jeff Lee
Hello and welcome to another episode of Cargo Facts Connect, the podcast of Cargo Facts, the publication of record for the air cargo and freighter aircraft industries for over 40 years. I’m Jeff Lee, Editor of Cargo Facts, and it’s Friday the twenty-first of November. This week, I was at the Dubai Airshow, where the static display included the latest 777-300ERSF for Kalitta Air, a SolitAir 737-800BDSF and what will soon become Bridges Air Cargo’s second E190 freighter. While I was there, I met Sebastian Bolivar, part of the fourth generation of an aviation-focused family and head of operations Chex Air, which is looking to start flying its first A300 freighter next year.

Jeff Lee
So Sebastian, tell me about checks there and the story behind checks there and what you plan to do in the months ahead.

Sebastian Bolivar
Okay, so first of all, it’s a pleasure to have you here. A pleasure. Jeff. So we, I am the fourth generation in aviation at the moment. We come from an aviation background. Back from the 1950s we opened our first company in Bolivia under the name of neba Neva, which is northeast Bolivian airways. Then we went to Chile to open a Chilean company under the name of Chilean airways. We flew sports teams. We flew miners from their minds to their homes. We flew all around South America. We flew Central America. We’ve been in the States as well. We have an AUC in the States. We have an AOC in Chile and well, in 2015 2016 we we started. We came to Dubai because we had to repatriate the soldiers from Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, to back to the US. So the US government contracted us to bring our EOC here, since they were bring their own AOC because they didn’t let us companies come here. So yeah, so we came here, and that’s how we we met Dubai. That’s how we got to know the market. We got to know the people we we saw a huge potential back in 2017 and at the end of our contract, we decided to come here to give it a try. And ever since 2021 we opened an office here. We opened a company, and we started doing business regarding brokerage, regarding Aircraft Sales and acquisitions, leasing and also aviation consultancy. So we met many people on the way. We met also Mr. JD merchandari from Sky One, and we started working together with him. And next year, we’re gonna start operating the A 300 600 from Chile to Dubai with cargo. We’re starting an operation from Chile, Brazil and Bolivia, all the way to Africa and to Dubai to the UAE. So that’s our plan, coming back and forth with the A 300 600 and if this goes well, we’re gonna incorporate a 747, in our fleet. So that’s that’s a little bit of our background

Jeff Lee
really interesting and well, first of all, it’s very long distance move from all the way from South America here to Dubai, yes. And also that means for your A 300 that’s going to be a very long flight, yeah,

Sebastian Bolivar
of course, of course. We need to, we need to take advantage of it the most. We are planning to bring on meat, chicken, perishables, also general cargo. But you know, cargo never sleeps. Cargo never sleeps. We have business for this one. So we are testing the market with the eight, 300 600 if it goes well, as I told you, you know what’s gonna happen.

Jeff Lee
So where are you stopping on the way between

Sebastian Bolivar
We’re stopping somewhere in Africa, in Africa, and then we’re coming to Dubai. We don’t have the, we don’t have our view that clear in Africa, but, yeah, but we’re stopping somewhere in Africa, and then we’re coming from

Jeff Lee
Okay, so this a 300 this will be on your us AOC

Sebastian Bolivar
No no on our Chilean AOC has the seventh freedom so we can fly anywhere.

Jeff Lee
Okay, and this a 300 is, did you? Are you leasing it, or did you buy it?

Sebastian Bolivar
It’s a partnership between sky one and checks air,

Jeff Lee
Okay, okay, cool. And then the 747, I’m assuming that’s 400 or yes,

Sebastian Bolivar
400 of course. That’s coming also from Sky One.

Jeff Lee
Okay, wow, that’s and how many? How many pilots do you have now?

Sebastian Bolivar
at the moment, we have around 10. We have around 10 pilots. That is, that is regarding our fleet. You know, we have a 328 320 we have the conveyors. And now we just incorporated the A 300 600 we also have many more pilots. But, you know, they are outsourced. And we also have some private jets. We have the Hawker 400 in the US. We have Hawker 800 XP right now at the moment, also g5 and g4 sp. And we are planning to bring more jets from the US and from South American region to Dubai, because here charter, charter flights are a lot more. Requested than anywhere else. You know, you you have lots of clients, you have you have a lot of demand regarding charter flights, also small planes. You know, regional flights are, are very normal here.

Jeff Lee
So for cargo, how? How important is cargo to the overall business? How big?

Sebastian Bolivar
It’s gonna be very important. It’s going to be very important. I think it’s going to take at least 60 to 70% of our focus, because we are planning to grow big. We are planning to have a very solid company. And I think our vision for the next five years is to really have a fleet of 747, four hundreds from South America to Dubai all the way back. It’s great. It’s a great opportunity.

Jeff Lee
Yeah, it’s, well, they’re very hard to find 747,

Sebastian Bolivar
yeah, of course, I know this, but I know the right people. You we know the right people. We have the right people. Don’t worry.

Jeff Lee
And in terms of just going back to the A 300 it’s, how are you managing the maintenance, the engines, for example,

Sebastian Bolivar
we’re managing it in Chile. Okay? With the MRO in Chile is that your own MRO? This is not our own MRO. We have, we have a partnership with these mros, okay?

Jeff Lee
It’s the so it’ll be the first, because there obviously aren’t any three hundreds now registered in Chile, right? You’ll be the first.

Sebastian Bolivar
Yes, we’ll be the first one. We’ll be the first one. So when we’re pushing hard to get it done, good.

Jeff Lee
When do you want to start flying

Sebastian Bolivar
We’re gonna start approximately in March, in March,

Jeff Lee
and I guess all the training before that, yeah,

Sebastian Bolivar
of course, of course, is being it’s taking place now at the moment,

Jeff Lee
Yeah, wow, that’s no, it’s interesting. The South America to the Middle East and African market is not a market that many people have tapped into.

Sebastian Bolivar
Yes you just have Ethiopia and you have Emirates, but you know you have more cargo. You have more cargo, and we should attend this segment. What no one does we do, and I’m pretty sure we’ll, we’ll, we’ll make it through. We have a combined around 45 years of experience.

Jeff Lee
So your customers do have your own GSA or how are you?

Sebastian Bolivar
Yeah.

Jeff Lee
Okay, and so most of these will be these ACMI type operations or your own schedule.

Sebastian Bolivar
Yes, yes, yes, our own schedule. But you know, if, if God lets us, we’ll it’ll probably be a commercial type of operation, also passengers, not only cargo, from South America to Dubai. That’s our that’s our last goal. We’re going step by step now. So next year it’ll be cargo, but maybe in like five or maybe in three years, we are going to do passengers as well.

Jeff Lee
Very different business from cargo, right?

Sebastian Bolivar
Yeah, yeah. I think I think cargo is better.

Jeff Lee
I think so too.

Sebastian Bolivar
Passengers are a lot more complicated, you know.

Jeff Lee
And I think passenger market is much more saturated,

Sebastian Bolivar
Yeah, of course you have Emirates. Emirates, it’s a giant what can you do against Emer? It’s nothing.

Jeff Lee
No, it’s interesting. So now your whole family lives here in Dubai.

Sebastian Bolivar
Well, yeah, you know, at least 70% of the time we’re in Dubai, but the other 30% we travel around. We go to the US, we go to Europe, we go to South America, mostly since we have our operation in South America. So yeah, we are taking care of everything as well as we can. We have, we have the right people, and we are on them also all the time, all the time. So this is how you keep the company running. You know, you have to have good procedures to keep the company running. Even if you have the right people, if you don’t have the right procedures, you’re dead. And also, if it’s vice versa, you’re dead as well.

Jeff Lee
So we’ve seen, you know, a lot of disruption globally, but when it comes to trade and all that, how do you think that has affected the potential business that you see

Sebastian Bolivar
disruption regarding what

Jeff Lee
trade and tariffs, all these geopolitical

Sebastian Bolivar
Yeah, it affects, it affects, of course

Jeff Lee
Or has that benefited.

Sebastian Bolivar
It’s good for us. It’s good for us because we are attending different regions than the US at the moment. So, so it’s, uh, I wouldn’t say it’s beneficial, but uh, it doesn’t matter to us. It’s okay for us. Yeah, it’s okay for us. We’re still gonna fly. There’s no problem. As long as there’s cargo, we’re gonna fly

Jeff Lee
And there will always be cargo

Sebastian Bolivar
Yeah, there will always be cargo.

Jeff Lee
Good, well, it’s really interesting, and can’t wait to see you start flying

Sebastian Bolivar
Good. Thank you. Thank you. You’ll hear a lot from us.