Challenge Group on track for six 777-300ERSFs by end of 2027

MEXICO CITY — Challenge Group will soon enter the 777 segment and grow to a fleet of six 777-300ERSFs in the next two years. Challenge expects to add the first three in 2026, Chief Commercial Officer Or Zak said during a panel discussion on widebody freighters at Cargo Facts LATAM 2026 in Mexico City today. [caption id="attachment_57295434" align="aligncenter" width="1317"] Cargo Facts Senior Associate Editor Robert Luke, far left, moderates a panel with, from left, Gudny Genskowsky of LATAM Cargo; Unndor Jonsson of Air Atlanta; Aaron Lopez of Air Canada; and Or Zak of Challenge Group at Cargo Facts LATAM 2026. (Photo/Cargo Facts)[/caption] The group is very close to taking delivery of its first 777-300ERSF . The 2007-vintage aircraft (32795, ex-Emirates) returned to Tel Aviv (TLV) on Feb. 8 after paint and will join Challenge on lease from AerCap. A second 777-300ERSF (33863, ex-Emirates) to be leased from AerCap has been in conversion at TLV since May 2025, while Challenge Group’s first owned 777-300ERSF will be the 2010-vintage unit 38284 (ex-EgyptAir), which arrived at TLV in April 2025 for conversion with IAI. Challenge Group signed up for four 777-300ERSF conversion slots with IAI in 2021. It operates five production 747-400Fs, one 747-400BCF and four 767-300BDSFs across its Maltese, Belgian and Israeli AOCs. Meanwhile, the group has finally cleared all legal hurdles and closed a deal to purchase three 2007-vintage, ex-Jet Airways 777-300ERs (35158, 35159 and 35162), Zak said. According to a Feb. 11 filing by Jet Airways on the Bombay Stock Exchange, Ace Aviation, a subsidiary of Challenge Group, bought: Unit 35158 and its two GE90s for $12.5 million. Unit 35159 and its two GE90s for $16 million. Unit 35162 and its two GE90s for $17.5 million. Legal limbo Challenge Group plans to send the three aircraft to IAI for conversion in the coming months, but it will take time and a significant investment to make them airworthy for the ferry flights, Challenge Group co-founder Eshel Heffetz told Cargo Facts . Units 35158, 35159 and 35162 have been parked in Mumbai (BOM) since April 2019, just before Jet Airways entered insolvency proceedings. In 2021, the Jalan Kalrock Consortium successfully bid to take over Jet Airways. The three 777-300ERs were stuck in legal limbo because Jalan Kalrock refused to comply with a court order to sell them to Ace Aviation, according to local reports. Jalan Kalrock ultimately failed to acquire Jet Airways, and India’s Supreme Court ordered the liquidation of Jet Airways in November 2024. Challenge Group will become the third 777-300ERSF operator and AerCap’s third lessee for the type. Kalitta Air has leased seven units from the lessor , while Air Atlanta Europe began flying one unit in CMI service for Fly Meta in December 2025. Follow Cargo Facts’ coverage of Cargo Facts LATAM 2026 . Cargo Facts will present four invaluable events for airfreight professionals in 2026, the next of which is <a style="color: #ff0000;" href="https://cargofactsevents.com/asia/?utm_campaign=22235567-CF%20Asia%202026&utm_source=Editorial&utm_medium=article%20event%20footer&utm_term=CF%20website&utm_content=Learn%20More&utm_source=Weekly+Update+-+Cargo+Facts&utm_campaign=fbe548904b-CF+Update_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_621baa6827-fbe548904b-40083601&mc_cid=fbe548904b&mc_eid=adbe8bb0b4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cargo Facts Asia on March 23-25. To see the agendas and register for the events, visit CargoFactsEvents.com .

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