Flexport’s own-controlled 747F service ends

• Jeff Lee
• January 10, 2020
• Aircraft, Capacity & Demand, Carriers, Equipment, News, Production Freighters, Strategy

Flexport will be terminating its own-controlled 747-400F operation on Jan. 25. From that day onward, the forwarder will instead be moving to an asset-light model, having entered into a series of block space agreement with Plus Logistics, wholly owned subsidiary of Nippon Cargo Airlines (NCA). Flexport told Cargo Facts that, while the move was part of […]

Air Atlanta Icelandic looks to 777 platform

• Jeff Lee
• January 9, 2020
• Aircraft, Carriers, Conversions, News, Production Freighters, Strategy, Widebody Conversions

Air Atlanta Icelandic could soon be adding 777s to the list of aircraft it operates. The Iceland-based carrier has begun recruiting 777 type-rated captains and first officers through Confair, a Dutch recruitment agency for cockpit crew, flight attendants and technical maintenance personnel. According to the job description, this new batch of pilots will be based […]

El Al secures 747 capacity with Atlas, sidelines other operators

• Charles Kauffman
• January 7, 2020
• Aircraft, Carriers, Equipment, News

In what may come as a blow to European 747F operators, Israel-based El Al Airlines began wet-leasing a 747-400F from U.S.-based Atlas Air [FAT 005279]. Flights between Tel Aviv (TLV) and Liege (LGG) began on Jan. 1. The move to lease-in capacity follows El Al’s 2019 decision to cease freighter operations of its own, and […]

Top widebody freighter developments of 2019

• Jeff Lee
• January 3, 2020
• Aircraft, Carriers, Conversions, Equipment, Production Freighters, Widebody Conversions

As the first week of 2020 draws to a close, we look back and reflect on some of the most important and newsworthy developments affecting freighter aircraft types in 2019, starting with widebodies. To begin with, we note that while stories involving the 747 are consistently among our most popular, in 2019 this seemed to […]

Geo Sky expands with another 747 Classic freighter, looks to -400Fs

• Jeff Lee
• December 31, 2019
• Aircraft, Equipment, Exclusive, Freighter Aircraft Transactions, News, Widebody Conversions

Georgia-based Geo Sky received a Christmas gift in the form of a 747-200F (23735, ex-Air Atlanta Icelandic) [FAT 005275]. The carrier now has a fleet of four 747-200Fs. Geo Sky told Cargo Facts that the aircraft is leased from a Dubai-based lessor, and expects to deploy unit 23735 in service on or around Jan. 7. While […]

European freighter fleet analysis (Part II): 777F on the rise

• Charles Kauffman and Jeff Lee
• December 30, 2019
• Aircraft, Carriers, Conversions, Features, Production Freighters, Strategy, Widebody Conversions, Widebody Fleet Analysis

This is the second part of our analysis of the European jet freighter fleet. Last week, we looked at narrowbodies in Part I. Turning to the widebody jet freighter fleet operated by European carriers, the chart shows that the total number increased 8.3% since last year to 209 units. Notably, the overall number of 747-400Fs […]

China Southern spins off cargo unit

• Jeff Lee
• December 26, 2019
• Aircraft, Carriers, News, Production Freighters, Strategy

China Southern Airlines has spun off its cargo unit into a separate company. The new, fully owned subsidiary was set up on Dec. 24 and has a registered capital of 1 billion yuan (US$142.9 million). The move is in line with China’s national policy of reforming its large state-owned enterprises. China Southern said during Cargo […]

SF Express earmarks $212 million for aircraft purchases in latest bond offer

• Charles Kauffman
• November 22, 2019
• Aircraft, All Posts, Conversions, Equipment, Narrowbody Conversions, Widebody Conversions

This week, Shenzhen-based SF Holdings, the parent of SF Express and SF Airlines, announced the issuance of six-year convertible bonds in hopes of raising US$825 million (5.8 billion yuan). Of this amount, the largest allocation, some $212 million, will go towards aviation-related expenses including maintenance of SF Airlines’ existing freighter fleet, and to fund the […]