Colombia-based Avianca will expand its medium-widebody freighter fleet with Airbus conversions, but the A330P2Fs will not arrive until next year.  Avianca expects to add a combined total of four A330-300P2Fs and -200P2Fs between 2024 and 2025 as part of its fleet strategy and continued growth in strategic markets to provide adequate capacity, the airline’s cargo ..read more

Brazil-based Moya Aero is advancing toward the first flight of its electric vertical takeoff landing cargo drone with plans to begin test flying at Fazenda Maristela Airport in the Southern hemisphere’s spring.  The prototype drone will undergo visual-line-of-sight and beyond-visual-line-of-sight tests, Moya told Cargo Facts.   The drone’s composite and carbon fiber wings and fuselage manufacturing ..read more

Serve Air Cargo, based in the Democratic Republic of Congo, will soon join the ranks of 737NG freighter operators in Africa when it adds the 2002-vintage unit 30516 (ex-Air China), which arrived in Kinshasa (FIH) on June 4.   Unit 30516 was previously owned by China Aircraft Leasing Company (CALC), which sent the 737-800 for ..read more

Elbe Flugzeugwerke (EFW) has reached a milestone in the latest generation of its passenger-to-freighter conversions, converting and redelivering the fiftieth Airbus aircraft under its A330P2F and A320/A321P2F programs. The 2012-vintage A330-300P2F (1357, ex-Avianca) was redelivered from EFW’s facility in Dresden (DRS) to DHL Express and will join the Air Hong Kong fleet for operations in ..read more

Austin-based Spectre Air Capital has started sending A321-200s for conversion into freighters and joined a handful of other lessors with the latest generation of both Airbus and Boeing narrowbody freighters on order.  The first aircraft is the 2001-vintage unit 1636 (ex-Air Busan) with V2500 engines that arrived at the HAECO facility in Xiamen (XMN) on ..read more

Latin America is elevating its presence in the air cargo sector to meet growing demand in the region as new lessors, operators and freighter types enter the Central and South American airspace.  More than 120 industry leaders and stakeholders gathered in Panama City recently for the inaugural Cargo Facts LATAM conference recently to discuss the ..read more

Seattle-based Saltchuk Aviation has removed a 767-300BDSF from its fleet as it takes on more of its own, younger 767 conversions. Saltchuk Aviation has returned the 1992-vintage unit 25201 off lease to Cargo Aircraft Management (CAM), the company told Cargo Facts [FAT 008756]. The aircraft, which has CF6 engines and flew to Wilmington (ILN) on ..read more

Textron Aviation has delivered its tenth Cessna 408 SkyCourier to FedEx. The aircraft (408-0015) was delivered June 2 and arrived in Spokane (GEG) from Wichita (BEC) that day ahead of being placed with Hayden, Idaho-based Empire Airlines for CMI operation [FAT 008757]. Unit 408-0015 is the fifth SkyCourier in the Empire Airlines fleet, joining unit ..read more

Turkey-based ULS Airlines Cargo will expand into the narrowbody segment and is set to become the first operator of 737NG freighters in the country. ULS has signed a dry-lease agreement for two 737-800BCFs and expects the first in September 2023 and the second in 2024, the carrier told Cargo Facts. Cargo Facts believes the first ..read more

Ireland-headquartered Avia Solutions Group has expanded its footprint in the narrowbody freighter space with its acquisition of Slovakia-based AirExplore. The transaction has closed, ASG confirmed to Cargo Facts, adding that while discussions about a deal began in 2022, it has known AirExplore and its management team “for a very long time.” The companies did not ..read more