Chapman Freeborn parent acquires Bluebird Nordic

• Jeff Lee
• January 30, 2020
• Aircraft, Carriers, Equipment, Narrowbody Conversions, News, Strategy

Lithuania-based Avia Solutions Group will fully acquire Iceland-based Bluebird Nordic from BB Holding and enter the narrowbody freighter segment for the first time. Bluebird, whose fleet currently consists of a single 737-300BDSF alongside five 737-400Fs, operates flights within Europe on an ACMI basis for several carriers, including ASL Airlines Belgium, EAT Leipzig, Swiftair and Poste Air […]

Top narrowbody freighter developments of 2019

• Jeff Lee
• January 6, 2020
• Aircraft, Carriers, Conversions, Equipment, News, Widebody Conversions

Last Friday, we looked at significant developments concerning widebody freighters in 2019. We continue today with narrowbodies, starting with the 737. The grounding of the 737 MAX, which began in March 2019, continued through the end of the year and resulted in Boeing deciding to put production on hold as hundreds of frames sit in […]

European freighter fleet analysis (Part I): 737 Classics drive growth, for now

• Charles Kauffman and Jeff Lee
• December 23, 2019
• Aircraft, Carriers, Features, Freighter Fleet Analysis, Narrowbody Conversions, Narrowbody Fleet Analysis

In a year as tumultuous as 2019, it’s encouraging to see that European carriers continued to add freighter aircraft. Today we begin an analysis which will take a closer look at these fleets, starting with narrowbody jets in Part I and moving to widebodies in Part II. To begin with, we note that for this […]

Central Airlines nears Chinese AOC

• Jeff Lee
• December 20, 2019
• Aircraft, Carriers, Narrowbody Conversions, News, Strategy

Zhengzhou-based startup carrier Central Airlines (“Zhongzhou” in Mandarin) is one step closer to launch. The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) issued a notice on Dec. 18 saying that it had received the carrier’s application for an AOC and that all preparatory work at the carrier had been completed. This is seen as the final step […]

17 Asia-Pacific fleet additions in 2019

• Jeff Lee
• December 13, 2019
• Aircraft, Carriers, Conversions, Equipment, Narrowbody Conversions, Production Freighters, Strategy, Widebody Conversions

Earlier this week, we looked at how the freighter fleet in mainland China has grown in 2019. As the year draws to a close, here’s an overview of the seventeen freighter aircraft that were added to carriers based elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific region over the course of the year. [Note: for the purposes of this […]

Qantas grounds 737-300F fleet, manages to secure lost capacity in midst of peak

• Charles Kauffman and Jeff Lee
• December 11, 2019
• Aircraft, Carriers, Narrowbody Conversions, News

Qantas Airways grounded four 737-300BDSFs (23478, 23486, 23488 and 23490) today after Israel Aerospace Industries informed operators of an ‘apparent irregularity’ with the rigid barrier systems installed on some of its 737 Classic conversion aircraft. Although details regarding the issue are slim, IAI promised a quick fix. The company is currently working with the Civil […]

ASL adds 737-400F to French subsidiary

• Jeff Lee
• December 3, 2019
• Aircraft, Carriers, Conversions, Equipment, Freighter Aircraft Transactions, Narrowbody Conversions, News

ASL Aviation Holdings has taken redelivery of a 737-400SF (25180, ex-Cardig Air), on lease from Luxembourg-based Vallair [FAT 005238]. The aircraft has been placed with the group’s ASL Airlines France subsidiary. Unit 25180 was originally delivered in passenger configuration to Spanish airline Futura in January 1992. In 2009, it joined the fleet of Indonesia-based Sriwijaya […]

Longhao re-brands after securing new investor, looks ahead to fleet growth

• Charles Kauffman
• November 14, 2019
• Aircraft, All Posts, Carriers, Conversions, Exclusive, Narrowbody Conversions, News

Longhao Airlines is settling into its secondary base at Zhengzhou Airport (CGO) following investment from Henan Civil Aviation Development Investment (HNCA), and is now operating under its new name, Zhongyuan Longhao Airlines. After a period of low flight activity at the beginning of this year, the carrier is returning its fleet to service, and has […]