Nehéz idők járnak a Boeing 747-8F programjára miután a Cargolux elmaradt átadását követően, az Atlas Air bejelentette, hogy három repülőgéppel kevesebbet fog csak átvenni.
Az Atlas Air, amely összesen 12 darab teherszállító változatú B747-8F-et rendelt még 2006-ban, a folyamatos gyártói késésekre hivatkozva él a szerződésben foglalt elállási jogával. Ami a további repülőgépeket illeti 3 747-8F átvétele még 2011-ben, négy gép 2012-ben és az utolsó két gép 2013-ban kerül várhatóan átadásra – adta hírül közleményében a cargovállalat.
Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: AAWW), a leading global provider of outsourced aircraft and aviation operating services, today provided an update of its fleet strategy, including an announcement that it has exercised its termination rights in connection with three early build Boeing 747-8 freighter aircraft. The three aircraft were part of an order of 12 747-8Fs announced in September 2006.
Atlas Air now expects to receive three 747-8Fs in 2011, four in 2012, and two in 2013. The first five of these aircraft have been placed under long-term ACMI (aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance) contracts, as previously announced.
William J. Flynn, President and Chief Executive Officer of Atlas Air Worldwide, said: “As prudent asset managers, terminating the first three aircraft was the right decision for our fleet, our customers and our stockholders. We expect the remaining 747-8Fs in our order to be better-performing aircraft than those we have terminated.
“The 747-8Fs represent a substantial investment in the growth of our business and are the cornerstone of our long-term fleet strategy, reinforcing our position as the most-advanced, most-efficient and most-reliable provider of outsourced aircraft and aviation operating services.”
747-8F Order and ACMI Service Contracts
Atlas Air notified Boeing that it has exercised its contractual termination rights with respect to three early production 747-8 freighters after lengthy delays and performance considerations. These three early production freighters were previously scheduled to be Atlas Air’s first deliveries in 2011. Subsequently, Boeing rescheduled these aircraft to early 2012 and three more recently built, better-performing 747-8 freighters were moved to the 2011 delivery positions.
Atlas Air expects to receive its first 747-8F from Boeing in October, followed by two in November and two in the first half of 2012. The first three aircraft will enter ACMI service with British Airways and the second two with Panalpina.
“We are delighted that our first five new aircraft allow us to extend our long-standing relationships with two premier customers,” Mr. Flynn noted. “And we look forward to placing additional 747-8 freighters with other customers.”
Fleet Plan Update
By year-end 2013, Atlas Air’s cargo operations are expected to include nine 747-8Fs and 24 747-400 freighters. It also expects to have two passenger 747-400s and three passenger 767-300s providing charter service to the U.S. military and other customers.
In addition, Atlas Air expects to operate at least 11 customer-owned aircraft in its CMI (crew, maintenance and insurance) operations. These operations include four 747 Large Cargo Freighters for Boeing, five 767 freighters for DHL Express, and two additional 747-400 passenger aircraft for SonAir.
As previously disclosed, the Company’s five remaining older-generation 747-200 cargo aircraft are expected to be retired by mid-2012, with modern, more-efficient 747-400F aircraft providing continuing service. The Company also expects to return two 747-400BCFs to their lessors at the end of their lease terms in early 2014 and early 2015, respectively. These two aircraft were leased as bridge capacity due to the delay in the delivery of the first 747-8Fs.
Mr. Flynn concluded: “Aggressive management of our fleet, the addition of new, better-performing and more-efficient aircraft, our new military-passenger charter operations, the continuing growth of our asset-light CMI operations, other growth initiatives, and the scheduled retirement of older aircraft give us confidence in our ability to meet the expectations of our customers and investors.”
Forrás: Atlas Air
