Air Incheon targets Aug. 1 for 747-400F ops

Air Incheon plans to launch 747-400 freighter operations this summer after concluding the acquisition of Asiana Airlines’ cargo business.

Air Incheon told Cargo Facts it is targeting Aug. 1 to begin operating an expanded fleet after transferring eleven widebody freighters from Asiana to its AOC, including:

Seven owned 747-400Fs; Three leased 747-400Fs; and One owned 767-300F. [caption id="attachment_57289731" align="aligncenter" width="2560"] Air Incheon used unit 25782 for test flights earlier this year, (Courtesy/Air Incheon)[/caption] The widebodies will join Air Incheon’s fleet of four 737-800SFs.

Air Incheon continues to evaluate additional freighters for its fleet renewal strategy, it said.

Preparing for widebody ops Ahead of closing the Asiana Cargo acquisition and to prepare for 747 freighter operations, Air Incheon took delivery of a 1997-vintage 747-400BDSF (25782) on lease from Asiana on Feb.11, and received a certificate of airworthiness for the aircraft Feb. 14.

After amending the AOC with South Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Air Incheon began test flights with the CF6-powered unit 25782 Feb. 19, flying fifty hours of demonstration flights between Seoul (ICN) and Jeju (CJU) before concluding the proving runs March 6.

The carrier said in March that it hoped to start revenue widebody service in June or July.

Apart from unit 25782, Asiana’s freighter fleet consists of:

Six 1994- to 2004-vintage production 747-400Fs (25781, 25783, 29170, 30765, 30768 and 33748); Five 1991- to 1999-vintage 747-400BDSFs (25405, 25777, 25779, 25784, 29375); and One 1996-vintage production 767-300F (25761). The 1993-vintage unit 25779 was spotted in Taipei (TPE) in May with its Asiana livery removed.

Air Incheon will not take the two oldest 747-400BDSFs (25405 and 25777), according to a January route application with the United States Department of Transportation.

Increased financial backing Meanwhile, Hyundai Glovis, Hyundai Motor Group’s logistics subsidiary, this week committed to investing approximately $146 million in Socius Private Equity Fund No. 5, the private equity fund behind Air Incheon, to support the Asiana Cargo acquisition.

Last year, Hyundai Glovis had agreed to invest $110 million in exchange for a 34.9% stake in Socius No. 5 and initially disbursed about $37 million in August 2024 . After deciding to increase its total investment to $146 million, Hyundai Glovis will now release the remaining money on June 25, it said in a June 16 regulatory filing with the Korea Stock Exchange.

The investment will make Hyundai Glovis the largest shareholder in Socius No. 5 with a 45.2% stake.

Socius Private Equity Fund No. 5 was created by Socius Aviation and Korea Investment Partners in 2022 as a special purpose entity to acquire Air Incheon. Socius Aviation is the majority shareholder in Air Incheon.

Air Incheon finalized the deal with Korean Air in January to acquire Asiana’s freighters, cargo business — including air traffic slots, rights, employees and cargo customer contracts — for about $322 million after Korean Air acquired Asiana on Dec. 12, 2024.

Korean Air confirmed its selection of Air Incheon as the preferred bidder for Asiana Cargo in June 2024.

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