THG Air — U.K.’s newest cargo airline?

[caption id="attachment_413847" align="alignright" width="460"] THG Air plans to add two A330-200Fs based in Manchester. (Photo: THG)[/caption] British online retailer The Hut Group (THG) has launched THG Air with plans to add two A330 freighters. The aircraft, to be painted in THG colors, will be based at Manchester Airport (MAN), where the group’s headquarters are located. THG told Cargo Facts the aircraft are likely to be A330-200Fs, which are in the final stages of purchase. It expects the two aircraft to begin service by the end of October 2020, flying “all over.” Although THG declined to comment on whether they will be own-operated or handed over to a CMI operator, the latter seems more probable. THG Air, which does not appear on the U.K. Civil Aviation Authority’s latest list of air-operator-certificate (AOC) holders, dated April 22, would be the first in the U.K. to have an Airbus widebody freighter. It appears unlikely that the two aircraft are converted freighters. The only operator is currently EgyptAir , which received its third and final A330-200P2F in November 2019 from Elbe Flugzeugwerke ( EFW ), the joint venture between ST Engineering and Airbus. Cargo Facts would be surprised if the carrier is looking to sell its three frames. While THG could be acquiring two passenger A330-200s and putting them both through conversion, the October timeframe makes this impossible, leaving aside the fact that EFW is already working on three A330-300 conversions at its facility in Dresden (DRS) for DHL : an ex-China Eastern Airlines aircraft (777) inducted in June 2019 , an ex-Shanghai Airlines aircraft (781) that arrived in July 2019, and an ex-Hong Kong Airlines aircraft (1124) inducted in March . That leaves production freighters. Airbus’ orders and deliveries tally for April still shows three unfilled A330-200F orders for Turkey-based MNG Airlines . It is possible that THG ends up acquiring two of these, but the timeline is questionable. Only thirty-eight production A330-200Fs have been delivered to date. Ten are in service with Turkish Airlines ; six with Avianca ; five each with Hong Kong Air Cargo and Qatar Airways ; three each with Malaysia Airlines , EAT Leipzig and Sichuan Airlines ; and one each with Air Hong Kong , ASL Airlines Ireland and MNG. We note that, before the COVID-19 pandemic, Qatar Airways was looking to remove its A330Fs from the fleet as more 777Fs replace them. The carrier received its twenty-first 777F in November 2019 and is expecting five more this year. Could two of Qatar’s A330-200Fs be destined for THG? Only time will tell. As a first step toward reducing its reliance on belly capacity and having its own-controlled freighter network, THG has already started a charter agreement with Singapore Airlines involving more than 100 freighter flights connecting manufacturing sites with the company’s distribution centers. THG said it had recently opened three new centers in the U.S., one in Singapore, and one in India, with another six planned before the end of 2020. The aviation disruption brought about by the COVID-19 crisis led to THG’s accelerated move toward using dedicated cargo aircraft to deliver goods such as vitamins, personal care items and hygiene products, according to Matthew Moulding, founder and chief executive officer.

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