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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 start flying proving runs in March and hopes to obtain its AOC in April. “We’re on track as of today,” Chief Executive Amos Rodriguez says in this week’s episode of the “Cargo Facts Connect” podcast. 7Air is part of Xtreme Holdings and is in discussions with cargo customers. It will not only operate charters but will also move its own freight, Rodriguez said. With the first two 737-800SFs secured, 7Air is considering adding more 737-800 freighters and is even looking at widebodies. “As far as the first route, we are concentrating on Central America,” Vice President of Commercial Operations Carlos Cock says. “There’ll be several destinations within Central America.” Tune in to this week’s podcast to hear more on 7Air Cargo’s plans as Rodriguez and Cock speak with Cargo Facts Editor Jeff Lee.

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 program, with a firm order for three slots and options for seven more.   “It’s a very promising and sensible way to use our feedstock,” Peters says in this week’s episode of the “Cargo Facts Connect” podcast. “And we think that the 777-300ER is the future of the widebody segment.”   The 2008-vintage prototype (37704, ex-Emirates) arrived in Wichita, Kansas, (IAB) in September 2021 and will soon undergo structural modification at Wichita State University’s National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR), with which KMC partnered to launch the 777-300ERCF conversion program in September 2020.   “We are convinced that they are the right people working on the product,” Thimm says.   Tune in to hear from Peters and Thimm as they speak with Lee in Amsterdam.

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 Airlines;Michael Hamelink, chief financial officer of Chisholm Enterprises and chief executive of Texel Air;Cristian Sutter, chief executive of Avensis Aviation; andOr Zak, chief commercial officer for Challenge Group.Seturidze will join a narrowbody freighter panel on Tuesday, Feb. 6, during the conference. Camex obtained its Georgian AOC in August 2022 and operates a 737-800BCF and a 737-800SF. The company also created a Slovenian offshoot, Camex Adria Airlines, which received its AOC in December. “I think 2024 will show us a lot of things regarding how the market will be improved for the future,” Seturidze says in this week’s podcast. Hamelink will also join the Feb. 6 panel discussion. Bahrain-based Texel, which flies two 737-800BCFs, two 737-700FCs and one 737-300F, launched and placed three 737-800BCFs with new subsidiary Texel Air Australasia in 2023. Wednesday, Feb. 7, will begin with a panel on widebody freighters featuring speakers including Avensis’ Sutter and Challenge Group’s Zak. Avensis announced its A340 freighter conversion in 2023 with launch customer Universal Sky Courier and is targeting a 2026 certification for this next step in its range of cargo modifications. Challenge Group operates three airlines based in Malta, Israel and Belgium, and has taken its first of four 767-300BDSF conversions. The group will soon also send the first of four 777-300ERs for conversion with IAI. “I think if we are looking at the signals at the moment, it seems like the market is stabilizing and hopefully we can see a bit more of what we used to in terms of the seasonality,” Zak tells Cargo Facts.

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 next three to four weeks, we expect to have the final certification by the beginning of February, before Carnival season in Brazil,” Modern Logistics Chief Executive Cristiano Koga says in this week’s episode of the “Cargo Facts Connect” podcast. “This is a very important milestone for us because we expect also the volumes to grow after the summertime vacation, which is taking place now in Brazil [until] the second half of February.”   Modern expects a second -800BCF later this year and plans to operate the two NGs alongside its Classics.   The NGs will focus more on cross-border flights, but Classics can also be used on the short hauls, Koga said.    “For example, for Uruguay and Argentina, we can fly with the Classics, but the NGS are much more effective for international flights and we’re going to dedicate that fleet primarily to the international routes and the Classics will not only be for domestic, but also charters that we have on a regular basis,” he said.   Koga, who was appointed in May 2023, said Modern has a market share of approximately 27% in Brazil but aims to have a double-digit share in other South American markets.   “We have very ambitious and aggressive plans to go overseas with our new aircraft, and to keep investing in those sectors that we believe value our value proposition,” he said.   Tune in to this week’s podcast to learn more on Modern’s plans as Koga speaks with Cargo Facts Editor Jeff Lee.

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 commercial cargo using the Cessna 208B. “Our opinion is that the right way to bring these sorts of systems to market is to follow the process,” co-founder and Chief Executive Robert Rose says in this week’s episode of the “Cargo Facts Connect” podcast. “And the process is you need to get this through the supplemental type certification work and then you need to modify your airline certificate to be able to use that STC equipment, and that’s what we’re working on. That’s what we’re planning on doing.” Simply talking about uncrewed operations and actually going ahead with certification are very different things from an organizational, procedural and safety analysis perspective, Rose said. “It forces some very different conversations that I think are healthy and necessary,” he said. “It also helps us build data for the FAA that they need to better understand what’s involved in operating an aircraft and UAS. Flight tests like this, I think, take it out of the academic realm — and nothing against academics — but it takes it out of the realm of theory.” The FAA has been good to work with, contrary to a common perception that it is slow and not receptive to new technology such as uncrewed aircraft, Rose said. “If you talk with people in the FAA, it’s just not true,” he said. “That is just not reflective of the reality; the FAA wants to innovate and people choose that job. They choose that career path because they want to be at the tip of the spear on new technology.” Tune in to this week’s podcast to learn more about Reliable Robotics’ testing and vision as Rose speaks with Cargo Facts Editor Jeff Lee.

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. “We have traditionally always focused on Asia eastbound interline agreements and those agreements and partnerships are still valuable to our success,” Pacific Air Cargo Chief Executive Tanja Janfruechte says in this week’s episode of the “Cargo Facts Connect” podcast. “But this year, we’re focusing on trying to align with other airlines, not necessarily out of Asia, but Europe and Canada as well. And we’re looking into Mexico — really just trying to see if we can provide some more tail-to-tail options in and out of Hawaii.” In addition to Kalitta Air’s 747s, Pacific Air Cargo also works with Asia Pacific Airlines and wet leases that carrier’s 757-200Fs. But even with an expanding network, Pacific Air Cargo is unlikely to operate its own freighters, at least for now. “We’re always open to ideas, but the ACMI model works so well for us that right now, at least in the near future, we’re not looking to move away from that kind of model,” Janfruechte said. Tune in to this week’s podcast to learn more about Pacific Air Cargo’s plans as Janfruechte speaks with Cargo Facts Editor Jeff Lee. 

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, compared to 2022 has actually grown by about 5%,” he said. “But next year, we’re expecting double-digit growth. And we’re very confident about the long-term growth of the intra-Africa market. Having said that, the market to and from Africa has not done very well, unfortunately. Some of the key markets, such as South Africa, have actually experienced overcapacity, which has resulted in lower yields.” Astral began flying its first 767-200BDSF in early 2021. That aircraft is on lease from CAM, from which Astral also expects to lease its first 767-300F in 2024. “The 767-300 is a very important part of our strategic fleet expansion,” Gadhia said. “And it will actually enable us to also look at operating into new markets which the 767-200 is not able to.” Meanwhile, Astral is on track to receive its first E190F conversion in 2024 and is considering 777-300ER freighters. Tune in to this week’s podcast as Cargo Facts Editor Jeff Lee talks to Gadhia at the Dubai Airshow.

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’re very bullish on the narrowbody market and we’ve got a lot of airplanes coming, so we feel pretty good about our position and the future,” Wegel said.   Reliable Robotics’ Chief Business Officer Myles Goeller will present on the latest in the development of alternative aircraft and the implementation of flight automation technology in the cargo segment.   “It is very clear to us that the market that is going to adopt this technology first at real scale is going to be the cargo market, starting with small freighter aircraft but over time taking that same technology to large aircraft that carry the bulk of goods today,” Goeller said.   Meanwhile, Tim Komberec, chairman and CEO of Empire Airlines, will discuss the growing regional freighter market as his company takes on more ATR 72-600Fs and Cessna 408 SkyCouriers from FedEx.   “There’s a lot of what I call trimming going on right now as the market kind of normalizes, but I think on the regional side, what we’re seeing is the demand for our services with our customers still strong,” Komberec said.   Tune in to this week’s podcast as Cargo Facts Editor Jeff Lee looks ahead at next week’s CFS 2023 with Wegel, Goeller and Komberec.

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 narrowbodies. Juniper has delivered four A321-200Fs and one A320-200F to date, with more in the pipeline. All were converted with EFW, in which ST holds a majority share. “EFW conversion slots are fully booked until 2026, and that speaks for itself when it comes to demand for this platform,” Tan said. “So, it’s very active and still healthy today. At the modification sites we have, the conversion work is still ongoing nose to tail, so it’s busy out there.” Juniper provided the prototype aircraft for EFW’s conversion line at the VT San Antonio Aerospace facility and, more recently, the Haite facility in Tianjin, China (TSN), which cut metal last month. Tune in to this week’s podcast as Cargo Facts Editor Jeff Lee speaks with Tan on A320 and A321 freighters.

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 years of maintenance and overhaul. Buffalo had to install additional avionics upgrades on the aircraft once it landed in Edmonton (YEG), but the end is in sight. The carrier will soon fly unit 23512 between YEG and Yellowknife (YZF) for its affiliate courier company, Buffalo Air Express. “I would do it all again. I could do it way more efficiently, but I wouldn’t change anything,” McBryan said. “I had so much fun and that what’s it all about at the end. Any restoration project, home reno, school — anything — it’s never about the graduation. It’s about the whole journey and I’m still in the midst of it so I know I can appreciate it.” McBryan has hinted at plans to add more 737 Classics. Tune in to this week’s podcast as Cargo Facts Editor Jeff Lee discusses these topics and more with McBryan.

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 conversion. Awesome Cargo registered its first A330-200 (1218, ex-Alitalia) in Mexico in June. The carrier intends to introduce 737-800 freighters in the months ahead, Ramos said. Ramos is also CEO of aviation services company Aerocharter, which has been helping freighter airlines transition to Mexico City’s new Felipe Angeles International Airport (NLU) and handles most cargo operations there. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador announced last week that the FAA will soon restore Mexico to Category 1 status, allowing Mexican carriers to launch new routes to the United States again. Mexico was downgraded to Category 2 in May 2021. “We’re very thankful for the Mexican government and the [Federal Civil Aviation Agency] for moving as quickly as they have in the midst of everything that’s going on with the FAA and getting back to Category 1,” Ramos said. “We’re very thankful and we finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.” Tune in to this week’s podcast as Cargo Facts Editor Jeff Lee discusses these topics and more with Ramos.

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 in India. After redelivering its 100th 737-800BCF last year, Boeing has also hit other milestones on its narrowbody conversion program in 2023, including the twentieth at GAMECO and the seventieth at STAECO. Meanwhile, Boeing also marked the fifteenth anniversary of its 767-300BCF program this year.   Tune in to this week’s podcast as Cargo Facts Editor Jeff Lee discusses these topics and more with Weiss, who will speak on a panel covering the freighter conversion market at Cargo Facts Symposium in October.