AeroUnion, Avianca on freighter fleet upgrade
08/02/24 • 21 min
AeroUnion in June started flying its first A330-300P2F as part of a fleet renewal and collaboration strategy between it and Avianca Cargo.
AeroUnion has based the 2006-vintage unit 791 (ex-SmartLynx) in Mexico City (NLU) for flights within Mexico and to Colombia and the United States, including some on an ACMI basis for the Colombia-based Avianca Cargo.
“We are really happy to welcome the new technology to our company because it’s a radical turnover to our numbers in terms of ability and capacity, and it’s also a big improvement in fuel consumption,” Chief Executive Danilo Correa says in this week’s episode of “Cargo Facts Connect.”
“We are expecting to reduce fuel consumption by about 30%, impacting positively our environmental footprint,” he says.
After beginning operations with the A330, AeroUnion retired its final A300-600F (642) at the end of June and has two 1987-vintage 767-200BDSFs left in its fleet.
Unit 791 is the first of two A330-300P2Fs Avianca Cargo will lease from CDB Aviation. The carrier also has two A330-200P2Fs on the way and intends to place more A330s on AeroUnion’s AOC.
Avianca Cargo’s own fleet consists of six production A330-200P2Fs.
“This is a milestone for the partnership because the old fleet is not as reliable, not as efficient and not as big,” Avianca Cargo Senior Vice President Diogo Elias says. “So, we are up-gauging, we are more reliable, and we have much more capacity.”
The two carriers plan to strengthen operations throughout Latin America using their hubs at NLU, Bogota (BOG) and Miami (MIA).
“This is a running business and we, of course, will find new opportunities to take advantage of,” Correa says.
Tune in to this week’s “Cargo Facts Connect” to hear more on AeroUnion and Avianca Cargo as Correa and Elias speak with Cargo Facts Editor Jeff Lee.
AeroUnion in June started flying its first A330-300P2F as part of a fleet renewal and collaboration strategy between it and Avianca Cargo.
AeroUnion has based the 2006-vintage unit 791 (ex-SmartLynx) in Mexico City (NLU) for flights within Mexico and to Colombia and the United States, including some on an ACMI basis for the Colombia-based Avianca Cargo.
“We are really happy to welcome the new technology to our company because it’s a radical turnover to our numbers in terms of ability and capacity, and it’s also a big improvement in fuel consumption,” Chief Executive Danilo Correa says in this week’s episode of “Cargo Facts Connect.”
“We are expecting to reduce fuel consumption by about 30%, impacting positively our environmental footprint,” he says.
After beginning operations with the A330, AeroUnion retired its final A300-600F (642) at the end of June and has two 1987-vintage 767-200BDSFs left in its fleet.
Unit 791 is the first of two A330-300P2Fs Avianca Cargo will lease from CDB Aviation. The carrier also has two A330-200P2Fs on the way and intends to place more A330s on AeroUnion’s AOC.
Avianca Cargo’s own fleet consists of six production A330-200P2Fs.
“This is a milestone for the partnership because the old fleet is not as reliable, not as efficient and not as big,” Avianca Cargo Senior Vice President Diogo Elias says. “So, we are up-gauging, we are more reliable, and we have much more capacity.”
The two carriers plan to strengthen operations throughout Latin America using their hubs at NLU, Bogota (BOG) and Miami (MIA).
“This is a running business and we, of course, will find new opportunities to take advantage of,” Correa says.
Tune in to this week’s “Cargo Facts Connect” to hear more on AeroUnion and Avianca Cargo as Correa and Elias speak with Cargo Facts Editor Jeff Lee.
Previous Episode
ATSG leadership on group’s new direction
ATSG is bullish about its growth strategy after a series of changes that culminated with Chief Executive Mike Berger’s appointment June 4.
As part of the leadership change, Jeffrey Dominick became ATSG’s president June 4 after more than seven years as a board member, bringing his Wall Street background to the role.
Dominick’s goal for 2024 is to help continue to position ATSG to evolve further, whether on the asset, customer or capital side, he told Cargo Facts during a visit this week to ATSG’s headquarters in Wilmington, Ohio (ILN).
“I’ve watched [the organization’s] growth evolve, and so in stepping into it right now, I’m excited for the opportunities when we move forward,” Dominick says in this week’s episode of “Cargo Facts Connect.”
“I think we all know how the company has grown with its different asset mix. It’s leasing as well as three airlines underneath. And as I step into it today, if I look at say, the rest of the year, we’re growing with our customers globally.”
ATSG’s leasing arm, CAM, is the largest freighter lessor and is headed by Todd France, who became president of CAM in April 2022 and was previously in other positions within the group.
CAM saw demand for its 767 freighters dip in 2023 and returns from some customers because of the softer market, but the lessor has also found new customers for its 767-300s, and demand for the -200s has “absolutely increased in the past twelve months,” France says.
“We’re placing multiple airplanes at multiple customers in multiple areas across the world,” France says. “So we continue to, in my mind, do a very good job at identifying that growth potential.”
Meanwhile, ATSG will soon place its first A330P2Fs and deliver more A321PCFs on lease, Dominick and France say.
Tune in to this week’s “Cargo Facts Connect” to hear more on ATSG and CAM as Dominick and France speak with Cargo Facts Editor Jeff Lee at ILN.
Next Episode
De Havilland’s bulk and LCD Dash 8 freighters to come in 2025
De Havilland Aircraft of Canada is progressing past the engineering phase for its bulk and large-cargo-door conversions for the Dash 8-400, and plans to certify the programs in 2025.
The two new products build on De Havilland’s Dash 8-400 Quick Change conversion, for which it recently obtained Transport Canada certification.
“We feel that there’s significant market potential in the regional space to connect Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities into main distribution hubs for cargo carriers,” Vice President of Sales and Marketing Ryan DeBrusk says in this week’s episode of “Cargo Facts Connect” recorded at the Farnborough International Airshow last month.
“We feel that the 400 is the right product with its speed and range capabilities and field-performance capabilities to allow carriers, whether it be traditional cargo carriers or non-traditional, to get into markets that they really economically could not do so today.”
De Havilland launched the three Dash 8-400 conversions at the Farnborough show in 2022. Since then, it has secured customers including Ethiopian Airlines, Peru-based ATSA Airlines, Kenya-based Advantage Air and United Arab Emirates-based Falcon Aviation.
“Without a doubt, the supply of aircraft is down from where it was,” DeBrusk said. “That said, I think there will be aircraft on a steady state over the coming years that are perfect for freight conversion, and so we’ll be looking to take advantage of that.”
Tune in to this week’s “Cargo Facts Connect” to hear more on De Havilland as DeBrusk speaks with Cargo Facts Editor Jeff Lee.
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