newstodate.aero
Feb 01, 2019 (newstodate): 2018 was a good year - and we are expecting 2019 to be even better, says the Icelandic ACMI provider Air Atlanta Icelandic.
-2018 was indeed a solid year, revenue-wise. All aircraft were flying on good trade lanes, especially in the cargo market, says Baldvin Hermannsson, Air Atlanta Icelandic CEO.
-The passenger market was also doing well, but this traffic is more seasonal with peaks and lows.
-The current global trade issues do spill over into our business as well, and we notice that market demands are so far not as high as in 2018, especially in the cargo market.
-At the same time we are seeing a shift in projects, operating for more and different customers, with less traffic from the Middle East markets and more traffic between Europe and USA, Africa, and more charters. This has a positive impact on cargo development, year on year.
-We actually have no availability of freighters, being fully sold out throughout 2019 and into 2020 as well. This allows us the confidence to act more aggressively as to aircraft acquisitions and future fleet planning.
-There is a limited supply of good Boeing 747-400 aircraft in the market, especially on the cargo side, leading to rising prices. But even so, we are actually to add one more Boeing 747-400 converted freighter slated for delivery by mid-2019.
-This will bring our fleet to six Boeing 747-400 freighters and seven Boeing 747-400 passenger aircraft in addition to one Airbus A340 managed for another airline.
-The Boeing 747 will remain our work-horse for many years to come, but we are of course evaluating a potential successor, first as a complement and eventually as a replacement. At this stage we are not precluding any alternatives, but my personal choice is a Boeing aircraft like the Boeing 777, not least the ER-version that is, however, years away from first conversions, says Mr Hermannsson.
Mr Hermannsson took over as Air Atlanta Icelandic CEO from January 1, 2019, as Hannes Hilmarsson, CEO since July 2006, stepped down to focus instead on the company's leasing arm, Northern Lights Leasing, where his main targets will be future aircraft acquisitions and fleet planning.
-2018 was indeed a solid year, revenue-wise. All aircraft were flying on good trade lanes, especially in the cargo market, says Baldvin Hermannsson, Air Atlanta Icelandic CEO.
-The passenger market was also doing well, but this traffic is more seasonal with peaks and lows.
-The current global trade issues do spill over into our business as well, and we notice that market demands are so far not as high as in 2018, especially in the cargo market.
-At the same time we are seeing a shift in projects, operating for more and different customers, with less traffic from the Middle East markets and more traffic between Europe and USA, Africa, and more charters. This has a positive impact on cargo development, year on year.
-We actually have no availability of freighters, being fully sold out throughout 2019 and into 2020 as well. This allows us the confidence to act more aggressively as to aircraft acquisitions and future fleet planning.
-There is a limited supply of good Boeing 747-400 aircraft in the market, especially on the cargo side, leading to rising prices. But even so, we are actually to add one more Boeing 747-400 converted freighter slated for delivery by mid-2019.
-This will bring our fleet to six Boeing 747-400 freighters and seven Boeing 747-400 passenger aircraft in addition to one Airbus A340 managed for another airline.
-The Boeing 747 will remain our work-horse for many years to come, but we are of course evaluating a potential successor, first as a complement and eventually as a replacement. At this stage we are not precluding any alternatives, but my personal choice is a Boeing aircraft like the Boeing 777, not least the ER-version that is, however, years away from first conversions, says Mr Hermannsson.
Mr Hermannsson took over as Air Atlanta Icelandic CEO from January 1, 2019, as Hannes Hilmarsson, CEO since July 2006, stepped down to focus instead on the company's leasing arm, Northern Lights Leasing, where his main targets will be future aircraft acquisitions and fleet planning.