newstodate.aero
Jun 08, 2012 (newstodate): Leading Icelandic aircraft lessor and ACMI provider, Air Atlanta Icelandic continues to build its fleet of Boeing 747-400 aircraft even under turbulent market conditions.
-We have just added another Boeing 747-400 and will take in one more later this June, going up to 14 aircraft of this type, says Baldvin M. Hermannsson, Air Atlanta Icelandic VP Sales & Marketing.
-At the same time we are phasing out the two remaining Airbus A300-600RF aircraft after ending the contract with TNT, and after this we are going for a Boeing 747-only fleet in the short and medium term, aiming at ending up with a fleet of some 18 aircraft by the end of the year, split 60/40 between passenger and cargo aircraft.
-Further down the road we are assessing other wide-body freighter options including the Boeing 777 and the Airbus A330 freighter versions.
-The ACMI market is indeed turbulent, but we have been here for a long time and base our business on long-term steady contract with selected customers, some of whom have been with us for more than 20 years.
-The short-term ad-hoc market is risky business, but we still have one or two Boeing 747-200F aircraft that may be available for projects as long as we find then fit to keep and maintain.
-We still see excess capacity in the market as airlines are reluctant to park them in waiting for better times. Also freighter conversion programs have almost come to a stand-still. This means a heavy toll on rates and yields which only increases the pressure on the market.
-We have been successful in keeping all our aircraft in business; no aircraft has been left idle after expiry of ACMI leasing periods. Our main markets have so far been the Middle East and Asia, but in the future we may look deeper into new markets like Africa where there is certainly a need for capacity, as well as, of course, China where we have already had some business, says Mr Herrmansson.
-We have just added another Boeing 747-400 and will take in one more later this June, going up to 14 aircraft of this type, says Baldvin M. Hermannsson, Air Atlanta Icelandic VP Sales & Marketing.
-At the same time we are phasing out the two remaining Airbus A300-600RF aircraft after ending the contract with TNT, and after this we are going for a Boeing 747-only fleet in the short and medium term, aiming at ending up with a fleet of some 18 aircraft by the end of the year, split 60/40 between passenger and cargo aircraft.
-Further down the road we are assessing other wide-body freighter options including the Boeing 777 and the Airbus A330 freighter versions.
-The ACMI market is indeed turbulent, but we have been here for a long time and base our business on long-term steady contract with selected customers, some of whom have been with us for more than 20 years.
-The short-term ad-hoc market is risky business, but we still have one or two Boeing 747-200F aircraft that may be available for projects as long as we find then fit to keep and maintain.
-We still see excess capacity in the market as airlines are reluctant to park them in waiting for better times. Also freighter conversion programs have almost come to a stand-still. This means a heavy toll on rates and yields which only increases the pressure on the market.
-We have been successful in keeping all our aircraft in business; no aircraft has been left idle after expiry of ACMI leasing periods. Our main markets have so far been the Middle East and Asia, but in the future we may look deeper into new markets like Africa where there is certainly a need for capacity, as well as, of course, China where we have already had some business, says Mr Herrmansson.