AEI awarded STC for 737-800SF, redelivery to Ethiopian expected shortly [VIDEO]

This week, US-based Aeronautical Engineers, Inc. (AEI) was awarded an FAA Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) for the conversion of passenger 737-800 airframes to freighter configuration. Redelivery of the first freighter-converted 737-800SF (29121, ex-Correndon Airlines) to launch operator Ethiopian Airlines is expected in a matter of weeks. Touch labor for AEI’s second 737-800SF (32613, ex-China Southern […]

• Charles Kauffman
• February 14, 2019

ASL Aviation Holdings acquired by private equity firm, will rapid fleet growth continue?

Ireland-based ASL Aviation Holdings, no stranger to acquisitions, announced its intent to be purchased by private equity firm Star Capital Partnership LLP for an undisclosed amount. In recent years, the ASL Group, which owns or holds stakes in cargo and passenger airlines based in Europe, Africa, and Asia, has grown rapidly by gobbling up complementary […]

• Charles Kauffman
• February 13, 2019

US House committee considers bill to fund FAA during shutdowns

Today, the US House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Aviation held a hearing to discuss H.R. 1108, the proposed “Aviation Funding Stability Act of 2019” that would fund the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the event of a partial government shutdown like the one ended late last month. The hearing examined how the […]

• Chelsea Toczauer
• February 13, 2019

As SF Airlines takes redelivery of another 757 PCF, plenty of feedstock remains

Today, SF Airlines took redelivery of the fifty-second freighter aircraft, and the twenty-eighth 757-200F, to join the SF Express-associated airline’s fleet. The 757-200 was converted by Precision Aircraft Solutions and is the latest freighter to join SF’s rapidly growing fleet, which grew to fifty freighters by the end of last year following the addition of […]

• Caryn Livingston
• February 12, 2019

CF EMEA 2019: Air Cargo’s next frontier

Executives with Astral Aviation, Freightos, CHAMP Cargosystems, and Dronamics discussed during a forward-looking panel discussion at Cargo Facts EMEA how two emerging tracks of innovation often discussed in silos – one related to commercial aspects of air cargo, and a second being equipment focused – are becoming increasingly intercoupled. To date, much progress related to modernizing […]

• Charles Kauffman
• February 11, 2019

Cargo Facts EMEA 2019: Are all-cargo carriers warming up to digitalization?

FRANKFURT – In a first for a roundtable panel discussion at a Cargo Facts event, a senior executive from an all-cargo carrier participated in a frank discussion with innovative startups and other air cargo stakeholders about the air cargo industry’s need to advance digitalization initiatives. The result? Though past efforts to abandon analog practices and […]

• Charles Kauffman
• February 8, 2019

CF EMEA 2019: lower asset utilization fuels European express market’s appetite for converted 767Fs

Low utilization rates and inefficient packaging are driving European express demand for freighter-converted 767Fs, said panelists at this week’s first-ever Cargo Facts EMEA event in Frankfurt. Dr. Joerg Andriof, Chief Operating Officer, Titan Aircraft Leasing, told delegates that the most efficient express networks in Europe utilize feeder aircraft, 737Fs, and 767Fs. “On the trunk routes […]

• Caryn Livingston
• February 7, 2019

CF EMEA 2019: PEMCO announces 737-700F launch customer

FRANKFURT – Today at the first-ever Cargo Facts EMEA conference, held this year at the Westin Grand Frankfurt, Airborne Maintenance and Engineering Services subsidiary PEMCO Conversions announced a launch customer for its full-freighter 737-700 conversion program. PEMCO originally launched passenger-to-freighter and passenger-to-combi 737-700 programs at the 2017 Cargo Facts Asia event in Shanghai. At the […]

• Caryn Livingston
• February 6, 2019