Australia is 5th country with 737NG, A320 Family freighters

Nauru Airlines’ registration of its 737-800SF with Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority on Aug. 1 has made Australia the latest member of a very small group of countries that are home to both 737NG and A320 Family freighters — the newest generation of narrowbody conversions. The 2002-vintage unit 33003 (ex-Sriwijaya Air) arrived in Brisbane (BNE) on July 14, joining three A321-200P2Fs in the Australian registry in operation with Qantas. [caption id="attachment_56864906" align="alignright" width="450"] Australia now has its first registered 737-800 freighter. (Photo/Nauru Airlines)[/caption] As Cargo Facts reported in May, Nauru Airlines purchased unit 33003 after securing funding from HALO AirFinance. A U.S. DOT filing noted the aircraft would be registered in Australia because Nauru does not have its own registry. Australia will see its population of 737-800Fs and A321Fs grow with ASL Aviation Holdings’ acquisition of Pionair earlier this year and Qantas’ plan to add nine A321Fs in the next four years. The four other countries with the latest generation of both Boeing and Airbus narrowbody freighters in active service are: 1. United Kingdom The U.K. was the first jurisdiction to have both a 737NG and an A320/A321 freighter in operation. After Boeing’s first 737-800BCF (32740) joined West Atlantic UK in 2018, Titan Airways took its first A321-200P2F in early 2021. Fleet reshuffles at West Atlantic and Titan saw a handful of their freighters move to Sweden, Spain and Malta. As of Aug. 15, there were four 737-800Fs and A321Fs registered in the U.K.: Unit 32740; One 737-800SF with BAE Systems ; An ASL Airlines UK 737-800BCF; and Titan Airways’ most recent A321-200P2F . 2. India India is unique in that it is home to all four next-generation narrowbody freighter types: 737-700F, 737-800, A320F and A321F. There were ten units across five carriers as of Aug. 15: Three 737-700BDSFs with SpiceJet , which will soon add its first 737-800BDSF; The world’s only A320-200P2F with Pradhaan Air Express ; Two A321-200P2Fs in operation with IndiGo ; Two 737-800BCFs at Quikjet ; and Two 737-800BCFs with Blue Dart . 3. United States The largest single population of 737NG freighters by country is in the U.S. But it was not until early 2023 that an A321 freighter made its way to a U.S. operator: new carrier Global Crossing Airlines , which expects to have as many as six by yearend. Global Crossing has an A321-200P2F and an A321-200PCF. Meanwhile, seven other carriers have a total of thirty-six 737NG freighters: Alaska Airlines with three -700BDSFs; Sun Country Airlines with twelve -800BCFs; Atlas Air with eight -800BCFs; iAero Airways with five -800BDSFs and four -800SFs; Northern Air Cargo with one -800SF; Kalitta Charters II with two -800BDSFs; and Mesa Airlines with one -800BDSF. 4. Malaysia Malaysia recently gained two A321 freighter operators in quick succession, adding to two carriers that operate 737-800Fs: World Cargo Airlines has three 737-800BCFs; Kargo Xpress also started flying its third 737-800BCF earlier this year; Raya Airways took its first A321-200P2F in April and two A321-200PCFs this month; and AirAsia and its logistics subsidiary, Teleport, have received the first of at least three A321-200P2Fs . Cargo Facts believes the next few countries to join the group will include Turkey, China and Oman. Cargo Facts Symposium, taking place Oct. 25-27 at the Omni San Diego, is the essential event for stakeholders in the freighter and air cargo industry. Learn more and register today to take advantage of our early-bird sale.

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