In early April, Garuda CEO Emirsyah Satar announced his decision to boost cargo capacity on passenger aircraft. Satar wanted to take advantage of rising airfreight volumes in various regions of Indonesia and mounting investment in the country. By the end of the month, he declared that the airline would get its first freighter by the end of this year. He has said that Garuda will have one A330-200F in service by January and two more joining the fleet in late 2013.

In a separate development, Atlas Air has taken delivery of its fourth Boeing 747-8 freighter. The airline's parent, Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings Inc., announced that the freighter will be placed into service for Panalpina under a previously announced long-term agreement. Pursuant to a multi-year aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance (ACMI) outsourcing contract, Atlas Air expects to operate two B747-8F aircraft offering next-generation performance in payload, fuel efficiency, total cost per tonne mile and environment compliance, on behalf of Panalpina, the Swiss-based global freight forwarding and logistics services provider. The second 747-8F for Panalpina is expected to be delivered and placed into service by the end of the summer. William J. Flynn, president and CEO said: "We are the only outsource operator to offer customers the B747-8 freighter, and we are very pleased that Panalpina, one of our longest-tenured customers, now has the industry's newest freighter. Panalpina can immediately take advantage of increased capacity and revenue-generating capability while improving fuel economy and the ability to offer its customer a unique and highly flexible solution for time-definite airfreight." Panalpina is the second Atlas Air customer to enter into a long term ACMI agreement for the 747-8F following British Airways World Cargo.

Source: AirWaves Weekly