Government shutdown holds up STCs, could ground aircraft

The shutdown of massive sections of the United States federal government and subsequent furlough of hundreds of thousands of federal employees – including 18,000 “non-essential” employees working in the Federal Aviation Administration – has already affected the aviation industry, and will only get worse for all facets of the air cargo equipment industry if it […]

• Charles Kauffman and Caryn Livingston
• January 11, 2019

Modern Logistics prepares to put next 737F into service, plans further fleet expansion

Brazil-based Modern Logistics is preparing to put a fourth 737F into commercial service in the coming weeks and plans to add several more narrowbody freighters before the year’s end, company CEO Gerald Lee tells Cargo Facts. Modern is also looking at adding a second fleet type this year, likely freighter-converted ATR 72-200Fs, as it continues to […]

• Charles Kauffman
• January 10, 2019

4 new 747-8F orders on Boeing’s order book

An additional four orders for 747-8Fs have appeared in Boeing’s backlog of orders, destined for “Unspecified Customer(s).” However, given past known orders that were previously not reflected in the order book, it’s likely the freighters are part of the order placed by Volga-Dnepr Group at last summer’s Farnborough International Airshow. As noted in the recent […]

• Caryn Livingston
• January 10, 2019

Air Force Accepts Flawed Boeing Tanker in a $44 Billion Program

The U.S. Air Force has accepted the first delivery of Boeing Co.’s long-delayed aerial refueling tanker despite flaws that remain to be fixed, the service said Thursday. The first eight of 179 planned KC-46 aerial tankers in the $44 billion program will be accepted from now through February. That’s more than two years late — […]

• Bloomberg News
• January 10, 2019

Air Atlanta Icelandic preparing for a future post-747 ops

ACMI and charter airline Air Atlanta Icelandic said it would enact a series of fleet modernization initiatives in the coming years as its ageing 747s exit service, the company announced in a statement yesterday, concurrently with a number of organizational changes. Although clear replacement options have emerged for passenger-configured 747-400s, Air Atlanta Icelandic’s freighter fleet […]

• Charles Kauffman
• January 9, 2019

Atlas to take over 747-400F ops for NCA

Today, Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings announced the expansion of its existing strategic agreement with Nippon Cargo Airlines (NCA), under which Atlas will operate NCA’s three 747-400 freighters on a CMI basis. The announcement is not unexpected, as the three -400Fs have been idled since the Japanese all-cargo carrier was forced to ground its entire eleven-unit […]

• Caryn Livingston
• January 8, 2019

Aston Martin Board Approves Air Freight in Brexit Planning

Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings Plc’s board has authorized contingency planning for Brexit that includes shipping car components via air freight. The luxury carmaker is signing deals with its supplier, DHL, to allow for the use of ports other than Dover and has authorized its supply chain team to make bookings for cargo planes, a […]

• Bloomberg News
• January 8, 2019

CAAC unveils carrier transfer strategy as Beijing prepares for second airport

On 4 January, the CAAC released a “one city, two airports” transfer scheme that further refines airport assignments for Chinese carriers as Beijing prepares to become a dual hub city. Beijing Daxing International Airport (BJB), located 50 kilometers to the south of central Beijing, is set to open in September. Once operational, Daxing is expected […]

• Chelsea Toczauer
• January 7, 2019