May brought a strong resurgence in Freighter Aircraft Transactions (FATs) as the month’s numbers peaked at an impressive 137, a stark contrast to April’s total, which fell below fifty. Twin-engine widebodies dominated the transactions for the month, with 777Fs, 767Fs and A330 conversions topping the list. One major deal was Lufthansa’s order for
DHL Express’ Bahrain-based subsidiary DHL International has begun operating its seventh 767-300F, completing this phase of the airline’s freighter fleet renewal and expansion. The 2002-vintage 767-300BDSF (33081, ex-American Airlines) began its service life with a flight from Bahrain (BAH) to Sharjah (SHJ) on May 20. The aircraft completed its conversion with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI)
Dubai Kenya-based Astral Aviation plans to expand its medium-widebody operations by adding four A330-300P2Fs, joining a growing number of carriers that are adding the medium-widebody freighter to their fleets. The emergence of new freighter types allows carriers to diversify their fleets, Astral founder and CEO Sanjeev Gadhia said during the first session of Cargo
Maersk has created a new entity, Maersk Air Cargo, which eventually will replace Star Air as the Denmark-based shipping and logistics giant’s own airline. Maersk Air Cargo will initially base five widebody freighters at Billund Airport (BLL): two new 777Fs on order with Boeing and three converted 767-300Fs it will lease from Cargo Aircraft Management
Kenya-based Astral Aviation will grow its medium-widebody fleet by adding a few more 767Fs in the next year or two and introduce the 757F platform to its operation, according to CEO Sanjeev Ghadia. Speaking during the opening panel discussion at Cargo Facts EMEA on June 2, Ghadia said Astral’s current single 767-200BDSF (22217, ex-West Atlantic) […]