Japan Airlines (JAL), which is undergoing government-mandated restructuring after entering bankruptcy in January, has said it will drop out of the freighter business by October, opting instead to utilise the belly cargo capacity of its passenger network which offers three times as much total cargo capacity as its freighter services. The decision means JAL's fleet of six B747 freighters and three B767 wide-body freighters will be sold or parked. ''We decided to move to a model where we can make … [Read more...] about Japan Airlines pulls plug on freighter ops
freighters
Air India cuts freighter pilots
Air India - which is phasing out Boeing B747-400s and Airbus A310 freighters - has terminated the service contracts of 30 of its pilots who fly the freighters with more cuts expected at the loss-making carrier. Air India currently has six B747-400s and two A310 freighters and recently leased out two other A310 freighters to the Delhi-based cargo upstart, Aryan Cargo. … [Read more...] about Air India cuts freighter pilots
China Eastern sold/leased-back six freighters
China Eastern Airlines (CEA) has recently announced that it reached agreement in August of 2007 for the sale and lease back of six Boeing MD-11 freighters to the aircraft leasing unit of General Electric (GE), Dow Jones reported. The Shanghai-based carrier said it sold the six wide-body aircraft to GE Commercial Aviation Services Ltd. for US$36 to $46 million each. As part of the transaction, China Eastern agreed to lease the planes back from the purchaser for up to 38 months from the date of … [Read more...] about China Eastern sold/leased-back six freighters
Cargoitalia makes binding offer for Alitalia Cargo
Italy's Alitalia Cargo, a subsidiary of the country's former national carrier and Europe's seventh-largest air freight operator last year, may be sold to Cargoitalia, a private Italian all-cargo carrier that has made a binding offer of €14.5 million for the company's five MD-11 freighters. Cargoitalia says the sale must be completed by 9 March and if it is, it will hire 15 pilots within one month of closing the deal and another 15 pilots for each MD-11 that enters its fleet over the next two … [Read more...] about Cargoitalia makes binding offer for Alitalia Cargo
China Air and EVA park freighters
China Airlines and EVA Airways Corp, Taiwan's top two air carriers, will park some of their B747 freighters in the Californian desert, as a result of the global economic downturn. As the cargo load factor has fallen to below 65 per cent from 75 per cent, CAL and EVA intend to store three and two Boeing 747 cargo planes in the desert, respectively, the first time the nation¡¯s air carriers have decided to put planes in storage because of disappointing operating results. Both carriers said they … [Read more...] about China Air and EVA park freighters
