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Cargo Facts Connect addresses all things freighters and aircraft. Connect delves into what's new in freighter transactions, belly capacity trends, conversion activity and aircraft finance. Brought to you by Cargo Facts, long the industry's leading information resource on freighter aircraft, Cargo Facts Connect gets you inside the freighter business. Cargo Facts has been the newsletter of record of the air cargo and freighter aircraft industries for over 40 years. Cargo Facts, published by Ro ...
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Singapore Airlines is preparing for the arrival of its first A350F as it continues to manage the hurdles challenging the freighter market. The airline will gradually retire its 747-400Fs as Airbus starts delivering its new large-widebody in 2026, but no estimate has been given for when the transition will be complete. “It’s really a lot of work, an…
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Airbus is making steady progress in the industrialization phase of its new A350F program as components come together and test rigs take shape. “We’re sorting through and finalizing the processes for assembly ready for next year, into final assembly and then first flight,” Airbus Head of Freighter Marketing Crawford Hamilton tells Cargo Facts in thi…
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Dubai-based Emirates is due to start taking delivery of some of its five new 777Fs this year as part of a 2022 order with Boeing. The carrier has returned four 777Fs to lessor DAE Capital over the past five years but also added two new units in May and June 2023, bringing its fleet back to eleven 777Fs. Further growth is on the way, with Emirates p…
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ST Engineering last week took redelivery of the first EFW A321-200P2F conversion to be carried out at the Haite Tianjin facility. Freighter conversions are not new to Haite Tianjin, but the company plans to increase its activity in the segment. “This business is a very strategic decision because we need to have a mixture of work and the type of wor…
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The United States will soon get a new freighter operator when Miami-based 7Air Cargo gains certification. The startup airline has agreed to lease two 2006-vintage 737-800SFs from Aircastle as its first freighters. The first of those (34799, ex-SpiceJet) finished receiving its new paint job in Goodyear, Ariz., (GYR) this week. 7Air Cargo expects to …
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Beatrice Peters and David Thimm, vice presidents of new business at Backbone Freighter Leasing, part of the Dr. Peters Group, joined Cargo Facts Editor Jeff Lee live from Cargo Facts EMEA 2024 in Amsterdam earlier this week. Germany-based Backbone Freighter Leasing is the launch customer of the Kansas Modification Center 777-300ERCF conversion prog…
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The freighter aircraft industry will gather Feb. 5-7 in Amsterdam for Cargo Facts EMEA 2024 to discuss the latest developments in the space. Ahead of the event, several industry leaders join this week’s episode of the “Cargo Facts Connect” podcast. Joining Cargo Facts Editor Jeff Lee on the podcast are: George Seturidze, chief executive of Camex Ai…
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Brazil-based Modern Logistics will soon deploy its first 737-800BCF to help grow the company’s international presence. The 2004-vintage aircraft (33566, ex-Ryanair) arrived in October and has been undergoing certification with the Brazilian Civil Aviation Authority. “We are in the final process with the regulator, and if everything goes well in the…
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Reliable Robotics this month announced it had performed the first flight of a remotely operated Cessna 208B without a pilot on board as the company works to certify its flight automation technology. The Mountain View, Calif.-based company aims to achieve certification in 2025, after which it will be able to operate uncrewed flights carrying commerc…
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Pacific Air Cargo has been heavily involved in the relief efforts in Maui as the island recovers from the destructive wildfires in August due to a long-term ACMI arrangement with Kalitta Air for the carrier’s 747-400F capacity between Los Angeles and Honolulu. At the same time, the company has been exploring other avenues of growing its business. “…
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In this week’s episode of the “Cargo Facts Connect” podcast, hear from Astral Aviation founder and Chief Executive Sanjeev Gadhia at the Dubai Airshow. Astral’s own-operated and wet-leased freighters fly within, into and out of Africa. The performance of the trade lanes has been mixed this year, Gadhia said. “The intra-Africa market, I would say, c…
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In this episode, hear from three speakers who will join us next week at Cargo Facts Symposium in San Diego. Ed Wegel, chairman and chief executive of Global Crossing Airlines, will share in a fireside chat the story of certifying a new airline during the pandemic and its cargo ambitions as the first operator of A321 freighters in the Americas. “We’…
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In this episode, hear from Boon Keng Tan, senior vice president, general manager and head of aircraft and freighter leasing at ST Engineering. In 2021, ST set up Juniper Aviation Investments, a joint venture with the Singaporean state-owned investment company Temasek, to focus on developing a freighter leasing portfolio that specializes in narrowbo…
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In this episode, hear from Mikey McBryan, general manager of Buffalo Airways, which is on the cusp of launching commercial service with its first 737-300 freighter in Canada. The 1986-vintage 737-300BDSF (23512, ex-Swiftair) that Buffalo purchased in 2022 had been in storage in the U.K. since 2017; it finally arrived in Canada last month after two …
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In this episode, hear from Luis Ramos, founder and chief executive of Awesome Cargo. The Mexico-based startup is in the certification process and nearing its AOC. It has leased two 2011-vintage A330-200s from Air Lease Corp. and plans to operate them in the Medius Class E cargo configuration from U.K.-based Avensis Aviation ahead of full-freighter …
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In this episode, hear from Bob Weiss, director of 737 and 767 BCFs at Boeing Global Services. Boeing continues to diversify its conversion locations, with the Joramco facility in Jordan announcing this week that it will host a conversion line for the 737-800BCF program, joining other upcoming sites like KF Aerospace in Canada and GMR Aero Technic i…
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In this episode, hear from Cristian Sutter, chief executive of U.K.-based Avensis Aviation, which offers a range of cargo modifications for Airbus widebodies. Avensis most recently launched a full-freighter conversion for the A340 with German startup Universal Sky Carrier, a project that is entering an advanced stage of development, Sutter said. In…
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In this episode, hear from Carlos Cock, chief executive of Miami-based Xtreme Aviation, which celebrated its tenth anniversary in the city last week. Xtreme expanded into the freighter leasing segment when it acquired its first 737-300F in 2022 and has worked with carriers in Latin America, including Colombia-based Aerosucre and Dominican Republic-…
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In this episode, hear from Pete Chareonwongsak, chief executive of Teleport, the logistics unit of Capital A, as the company unveiled its first A321 freighter on lease from BBAM in a ceremony in Kuala Lumpur on July 12. Teleport says it already is the largest air logistics network in Southeast Asia but has ambitious plans for further growth with it…
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This week’s episode of the “Cargo Facts Connect” podcast focuses on the potential bankruptcy of Western Global Airlines and the impending strike by the UPS Teamsters union. With this week’s news that Western Global is inching closer to bankruptcy Cargo Facts looks at the airline’s fleet in more detail, addressing signs of the potential collapse and…
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In this week’s episode of the “Cargo Facts Connect” podcast, hear a discussion on highlights from the Paris Air Show, including orders for 737-800BCFs from Air Algerie and NAC, a massive deal for 500 passenger Airbus narrowbodies from IndiGo and an update to Boeing’s and Airbus’ market outlooks. At the show, Embraer also unveiled plans to begin con…
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In this episode, Cargo Facts Editor Jeff Lee, Senior Associate Editor Robert Luke and Associate Editor Andrew Crider discuss two items relating to Cebu Pacific Air and a trend in feedstock for A330 conversions. Cebu Pacific has reactivated 50% of its freighter fleet, sending one of its two ATR 72-500Fs to an MRO in Vietnam for C check after being o…
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In the 100th episode this week, Cargo Facts Editor Jeff Lee and Associate Editors Andrew Crider and Robert Luke discuss a conversion milestone for Elbe Flugzeugwerke (EFW), a new 737-800BCF operator in Turkey and MD-11 retirements. This week marked EFW’s fiftieth redelivery of its latest generation of Airbus conversions with an A330-300P2F for DHL …
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In this episode, Cargo Facts Associate Editor Andrew Crider sits down with Natilus co-founder and Chief Executive Aleksey Matyushev to discuss the development of the company’s Kona cargo drone. Natilus recently announced a deal with ZeroAvia and unveiled a hydrogen-powered engine option for its blended-wing cargo drone. This development comes after…
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In this episode, Cargo Facts Editor Jeff Lee and Associate Editors Andrew Crider and Robert Luke discuss the first Cargo Facts LATAM conference, which took place this week in Panama City. Cargo Facts made its debut in Latin America with groundbreaking news, developments and insight from industry leaders in the region. At the event, Lee and Luke cau…
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In this episode, Cargo Facts Editor Jeff Lee and Associate Editors Andrew Crider and Robert Luke highlight the key takeaways from the Association for Uncrewed Vehicles International’s XPONENTIAL 2023 exhibition and conference in Denver this week and other developments. Cargo drones dominated the news this week, with Canada-based Volatus Aerospace e…
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In this week’s episode of the “Cargo Facts Connect” podcast, Cargo Facts Editor Jeff Lee and Associate Editors Andrew Crider and Robert Luke discuss a series of widebody developments involving a variety of freighter types. First, Japan Airlines will operate its own freighters again after a hiatus of more than ten years as part of a groupwide growth…
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In this episode, Cargo Facts Editor Jeff Lee and Associate Editor Andrew Crider discuss watershed moments in the drone industry involving integration of unmanned aircraft systems into airspace. In North America, Reliable Robotics submitted data gathered with NASA to validate the reliability of existing radar systems in ensuring the safe separation …
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In this episode, Cargo Facts Editor Jeff Lee and Associate Editor Andrew Crider are joined by Cargo Facts Consulting Director Guillermo Ochovo and Senior Consultant Jim Edgar to discuss highlights from Cargo Facts Asia, which returned this week for the first time since 2019. Ochovo shares his thoughts on Cargo Facts Consulting’s latest freighter fo…
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In this episode, Cargo Facts Editor Jeff Lee and Associate Editor Andrew Crider speak with Carlos Cock, chief executive of Miami-based Xtreme Aviation, about the Latin American market for freighter aircraft, the preference for 737 Classics and the challenges and opportunities that are on the horizon. Cock will speak during a panel on narrowbody fre…
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In this episode, Cargo Facts Editor Jeff Lee and Associate Editors Andrew Crider and Robert Luke discuss the restructure of FedEx, which now plans to retire its remaining MD-11Fs by 2028, switching to an entirely twin-engine fleet. With changes to its aircraft fleet, FedEx also expects to change its routes, downsizing its foothold in Europe. Meanwh…
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DHL commits to Mammoth, old habits die hard with the 757, and from Russia with love for the Il-96T
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In this episode, Cargo Facts Editor Jeff Lee and Associate Editors Andrew Crider and Robert Luke discuss DHL’s acquisition of ex-Delta 777-200LRs for conversion to 777-200LRMFs with Mammoth Freighters. The deal marks the first major express carrier commitment to the Mammoth program. Additionally, AAR signaled a continued interest in 757-200 convers…
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In this episode, hear a discussion of the first test flight of IAI and AerCap’s “Big Twin” program, with the prototype 777-300ERSF taking off from Tel Aviv after a nearly two-year conversion process at IAI headquarters. Also, a talk on the possibility of UPS acquiring more 747-8Fs, as the carrier hinted last year at a change to its original plans t…
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In this week’s episode of the “Cargo Facts Connect” podcast, Cargo Facts Editor Jeff Lee and Associate Editors Andrew Crider and Robert Luke discuss regional freighters and Boeing’s expansion of conversion capacity in India, as well as several 737-800 developments, including the imminent arrival of a 737-800BCF to join the Central Airlines fleet. I…
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In this episode, Cargo Facts Editor Jeff Lee and Associate Editor Robert Luke discuss the highlights of ISTAT Americas conference, which featured a session on the cargo market and another on mergers and acquisitions among lessors. Luke and Lee also talk about Cargojet selling two of its 777-300ERs, ANA acquiring NCA, and Canadian North adding two A…
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In this week’s episode of the “Cargo Facts Connect” podcast, Cargo Facts Editor Jeff Lee and Associate Editors Andrew Crider and Robert Luke kick off the discussion with Universal Hydrogen’s first flight of its modified Dash 8-300, which features the addition of a hydrogen-powered engine to replace one of the conventional Pratt & Whitney turboprops…
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In this episode, Cargo Facts Editor Jeff Lee and Associate Editors Andrew Crider and Robert Luke kick off the discussion with the unveiling of a new cargo drone in Israel that is manufactured by Heven and uses hydrogen power to enhance its range. And as another A330 arrived in Dresden for conversion with EFW, the company announced that it will open…
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In this episode, Cargo Facts Editor Jeff Lee and Associate Editors Andrew Crider and Robert Luke kick off the discussion with a watershed moment in the cargo industry: the news that Ameriflight will purchase the Sabrewing Rhaegal-A. Additionally, the drone space saw a series of milestones from medical drone operator Spright, unmanned aircraft devel…
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In this episode, Cargo Facts Editor Jeff Lee and Associate Editor Robert Luke are joined by Cargo Facts Consulting Senior Consultant Jim Edgar live in Dubai to discuss Cargo Facts EMEA 2023, the direction of the air cargo industry and potential movements and transactions to come. The trio provide an impartial outlook of the current market, includin…
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In this episode, Cargo Facts Editor Jeff Lee and Associate Editor Robert Luke are joined by Cargo Facts Consulting Senior Consultant Jim Edgar to discuss the departure of the final 747 to be produced — and the legacy of the large quad-engine jet. Edgar shares some of his memories from his days at Boeing — including a conversation with the “Father o…
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In this episode, Cargo Facts Editor Jeff Lee and Associate Editors Andrew Crider and Robert Luke discuss Mammoth Freighters, which this week inducted its first, conformity 777-300ERMF at the Aspire MRO facility in Fort Worth, Texas. In addition, Lee talks about his tour of ANA’s maintenance facilities, and Crider discusses Ameriflight’s order of tw…
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In this episode, Cargo Facts Associate Editors Andrew Crider and Robert Luke discuss Central Airlines launching its European operations and hinting that it would soon add a second 777F to its freighter fleet. The editors also discuss the anticipated news of a relatively new entity that has placed a lease order for widebody aircraft. More details wi…
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In this episode, Cargo Facts Editor Jeff Lee and Associate Editors Andrew Crider and Robert Luke discuss the 737-400F, which has already made headlines this year for both retirements and additions. The team reflects on the 737 Classic and how its adoption and retirement fuel the rise of 737-800Fs. Meanwhile, the ARJ21-700CCF received its certificat…
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In this episode, Cargo Facts Editor Jeff Lee and Associate Editors Andrew Crider and Robert Luke discuss FedEx’s fleet restructure after the express carrier painted a grim picture for the future of airfreight during its latest earnings call. The team also breaks down news of Aerolineas Argentinas receiving its first two 737-800Fs and the first A321…
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In this episode, Cargo Facts Editor Jeff Lee and Associate Editors Andrew Crider and Robert Luke are joined by Cargo Facts Consulting Senior Consultant Jim Edgar to look back on an eventful 2022. Major highlights have included new players joining the market and others leaving, new programs and certifications, and intense competition in the large-wi…
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In this episode, Cargo Facts Editor Jeff Lee and Associate Editors Andrew Crider and Robert Luke discuss the launch of Quikjet Cargo Airlines, which has obtained its air operator certificate and may soon start service with an Amazon-branded 737-800BCF. Additionally, Embraer has provided an update on its E-Jet conversion program, cutting the first p…
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In this episode, Cargo Facts Editor Jeff Lee and Associate Editors Andrew Crider and Robert Luke discuss the rollout of the final 747 at the Boeing assembly line in Everett, Wash. More than twenty operators of older 747Fs have yet to order the next generation of large-widebody freighter, representing a significant opportunity for those in the compe…
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In this episode, Cargo Facts Editor Jeff Lee and Associate Editors Andrew Crider and Robert Luke discuss news that Rolls-Royce has successfully tested its hydrogen engine platform. What impact will this have on cargo? Meanwhile, Boeing has suspended the testing of its 777-9 passenger aircraft due to an engine issue. Will this also further delay the…
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In this episode, Cargo Facts Editor Jeff Lee and Associate Editors Andrew Crider and Robert Luke discuss a new partnership between Brazilian carrier Azul and e-commerce giant Amazon to provide cargo operations in northern Brazil. Meanwhile, a series of Boeing additions drove freighter transactions in Asia and the 757 platform continues to generate …
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In this episode, Cargo Facts Editor Jeff Lee and Associate Editors Andrew Crider and Robert Luke discuss Silk Way West’s intention to use the 777-8F as part of its plan to replace the Queen of the Skies, Asia Cargo Network’s plan to place a number of 737NG and 767 freighters with its Middle Eastern AOC, and more 737-800BCFs joining North American o…
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