SolitAir to expand with own narrowbody freighter fleet

Cargo Facts Connect

SolitAir plans to take delivery soon of its first dry-leased 737-800 freighter to grow its narrowbody operations after it receives its United Arab Emirates AOC.

SolitAir’s own freighter will add to three ACMI 737-800BCFs operated by ASL Airlines Ireland.

“The 730-800 was the best of its class to do the work that I’m looking for,” SolitAir Chairman and Chief Executive Hamdi Osman says in this week’s episode of “Cargo Facts Connect.”

SolitAir intends to become an express cargo airline offering a daily schedule with flights of up to six hours from its base in Dubai (DWC).

“My goal is to have at least ten aircraft in the first one-and-a-half years of operations,” Osman says, adding that these will likely all be narrowbodies.

ASL has already deployed two 737-800BCFs to DWC for the ACMI arrangement, with the 2005-vintage unit 33023 starting service in October 2024 and the 2007-vintage unit 32686 following in December. The third aircraft will arrive soon, Osman said.

SolitAir hopes to get its AOC by the end of January and is considering multiple AOCs to capitalize on growth opportunities not just in the Middle East, but also in Africa, the Indian subcontinent, Central Asia and Turkey.

“The more I get to know about the global South, the more I get excited,” Osman says.

Tune in to this week’s “Cargo Facts Connect” to hear more on SolitAir as Osman speaks with Cargo Facts Editor Jeff Lee.