After recently growing its fleet, Kalitta Air now operates a fleet of 35 aircraft. The American cargo airline operates a wide variety of routes including Department of Defense Charters as well as regularly scheduled flights for customers such as DHL and the United States Postal Service (USPS). Up until a couple of years ago, Kalitta operated only one aircraft type: the Boeing 747. Now, Kalitta has expanded its fleet to include the Boeing 767 and more recently the Boeing 777.

Oct 28, 2020 Kalitta Air To Be Launch Customer of The Boeing 777-300ERSF LONDON – Kalitta Air (K4) has signed a leasing agreement with GECAS to be the launch customer of the Boeing 777-300ERSF, of which the airline will take three aircraft.

Kalitta Air to be Launch Operator of The Big Twin with Agreement to Lease Three 777-300ERSF from GECAS Cargo October 27, 2020 — GECAS Cargo announced an agreement with Kalitta Air for three 777-300ERSF aircraft. Oct 27, 2020 Kalitta Air has emerged as the launch operator for the freighter-converted 777-300ERSF and will lease three of the type from GECAS FATs 0. Kalitta told Cargo Facts the 777-300ERSFs will initially be used for growth, but in the long term will serve as replacements for the carrier’s older converted 747-400Fs. The 777 Freighter, commonly referred to as the Triple Seven is more fuel-efficient than competing aircraft in the wide-body freighter market. Excellent fuel efficiency, operational flexibility, low- noise levels support time-critical cargo schedules even at airports with stringent noise and emissions standards.

Like many cargo airlines, Kalitta Air’s Fleet consists of primarily second-hand aircraft, some with a very interesting history. Below we detail the history behind some of the aircraft in Kalitta’s fleet.

Boeing 747-400

Most of the 747s in Kalitta Air’s fleet have come from either Japan Airlines or Korean Air.

N740CK&N741CK: Delivered as passenger aircraft to Malaysia Airlines in 1989 before being converted to freighters in 2003. Delivered to Kalitta in 2008 in the standard Kalitta paint scheme. N740CK was painted into a DHL paint scheme in 2011.

N742CK, N743CK, N744CK, N745CK: Delivered as passenger aircraft to Japan Airlines and converted to freighters. Flew for Japan Air Cargo for before being delivered to Kalitta in 2010.
Delivered to Japan Airlines:
N742CK: 1990
N743CK: 1993
N744CK: 1993
N745CK: 1998
Converted to Freighter for Japan Airlines Cargo
N742CK: 2009
N743CK: 2007
N744CK: 2006
N745CK: 2007
All 4 aircraft were delivered to Kalitta in 2010. All of these aircraft wear the standard Kalitta paint scheme except N743CK which wears the DHL Paint Scheme.

N782CK: Supposed to be delivered to LoadAir Cargo in 2009 but was never delivered. Delivered to Kalitta in 2011 in the standard paint scheme. N782CK is the last 747-400 ever built.

N402KZ & N403KZ: Delivered to Nippon Cargo Airlines in 2005 and 2006. Delivered to Kalitta Air in 2013 (402) and 2015 (403) in the standard Kalitta paint scheme.

N401KZ: Delivered to Nippon Cargo Airlines in 2005. Transferred to ACG Air Cargo Global in 2014 before being delivered to Kalitta in 2016 in the standard paint scheme.

N700CK: This aircraft was delivered as a freighter in 1997 to CargoLux, one of the largest operators of the 747. It flew for CargoLux until 2009 when it was transferred to its Italian division, CargoLux Italia. In 2013, the aircraft was sent to Centurion Air Cargo where it flew based out of Miami. Centurion has since gone out of business. This aircraft was then put into service in the Kalitta fleet in October 2015. It was initially painted in a white paint scheme with a small Kalitta title before being painted into the full Kalitta paint scheme in early 2018.

N701CK, N702CK, N705CK & N706CK: Delivered to Korean Air Cargo in 2000 and 2001 before being withdrawn from use in 2017 after being replaced by the 747-8. Entered the Kalitta fleet in 2017 with N701CK & N702CK wearing an all-white paint scheme with small Kalitta titles. N705CK and N706CK wear the full Kalitta paint scheme.

N703CK: Delivered to Singapore Airlines as a passenger aircraft in 1990. Transferred to Air India in 2004. The aircraft was converted to a freighter in 2007 before entering service with MartinAir. Acquired by Air Atlanta Icelandic in 2012 to fly cargo for Saudi Arabian Airlines. It flew for Air Atlanta Icelandic till November 2016. During that time it also flew for AirBridge Cargo from October 2015 to November 2016. Delivered to Kalitta at the end of 2017. This aircraft primarily flies between Los Angeles and Honolulu and wears the Pacific Air Cargo paint scheme.

N707CK: Delivered to Korean Air as a passenger aircraft in 1992 before being converted to a freighter in 2010. Flew for Korean Air Cargo before being transferred to Kalitta in 2016 as N539BC. Re-registered as N707CK in September 2018. This aircraft wears the all-white paint scheme with small Kalitta Air titles.

N708CK: Delivered to Korean Air as a passenger aircraft in 1991 before being converted to a freighter in 2008. Flew for Korean Air Cargo before being transferred to Kalitta in 2016 as N976BA. The aircraft flew in the Pacific Air Cargo scheme until 2018 when it was re-registered as N708CK. It was then painted in the full Kalitta paint scheme.

N709CK: Delivered to Korean Air as a passenger aircraft in 1993 before being converted to a freighter in 2010. Flew for Korean Air Cargo before being transferred to Kalitta in 2017 as N496BC. The aircraft was re-registered N709CK earlier this year. This aircraft wore the all-white paint scheme with the small Kalitta Air titles until earlier this year when it was painted into the full Kalitta paint scheme.

N710CK: Delivered to Korean Air Cargo in 1997 and flew for them until early 2017 when it was replaced by the 747-8F and 777F. Transferred to Kalitta a year later and painted into the full Kalitta paint scheme.

N712CK: Delivered to Korean Air Cargo in 2002 and flew for them until late 2017 when it was replaced by the 747-8F and 777F. Transferred to Kalitta in early 2018 and painted into the all-white paint scheme with small Kalitta Air titles.

N713CK & N715CK: Delivered to Korean Air Cargo in 2002 and flew for them until late 2016 when they were replaced by the 747-8F and 777F. Transferred to Kalitta in early 2018. N713CK wears an all-white paint scheme with no Kalitta markings while N715CK wears the full Kalitta paint scheme.

N716CK: Delivered to Korean Air Cargo in 1998 and flew for them until late 2017 when it was replaced by the 747-8F and 777F. Transferred to Kalitta in late 2018 and painted into the all-white paint scheme with small Kalitta Air titles.

N785CK: Delivered to Korean Air Cargo in 1997 and flew for them until the middle of 2018 when it was replaced by the 747-8F and 777F. Transferred to Kalitta in late 2018. This aircraft has not been photographed since being delivered to Kalitta but likely wears the all-white paint scheme with small Kalitta Air titles.

Boeing 767-300

Kalitta introduced the Boeing 767 into its fleet in 2016 and has since grown the fleet to 8 aircraft.

N760CK: & N761CK Delivered as passenger aircraft by Boeing to Varig Airlines of Brazil in 1989 & 1990. Both aircraft wore the Star Alliance paint scheme until they were removed from service in 2006. The aircraft were then delivered to Business Air of Thailand in 2010 before being returned to the lessor in early 2015. These aircraft were transferred to Kalitta in late 2015 and early 2016. They were then sent to Tel Aviv for conversion to a freighter configuration April and July 2016. These aircraft wear the all-white paint scheme with small Kalitta Air titles.

N762CK: Delivered as a passenger aircraft to Gulf Air of Bahrain in 1992. Transferred to Gulf Traveler, a low-cost subsidiary of Gulf Air in 2003. Russian carrier Transaero took delivery of this aircraft in 2008. Flew for Transaero until early 2017 when it was delivered to Kalitta and converted to a freighter in Mexico City. This aircraft wears the all-white paint scheme with small Kalitta Air titles.

N763CK: Delivered to Gulf Air in 1993 as a passenger aircraft and transferred to its low-cost subsidiary Gulf Traveler in 2006. Transferred to Transaero in 2008 before being stored from 2015 to early 2017. Delivered to Kalitta in early 2017 and then converted to a freighter in Mexico City in early 2018. This aircraft wears the all-white paint scheme with small Kalitta Air titles.

N764CK: Delivered to Gulf Air in 1994 as a passenger aircraft and then transferred to its low-cost subsidiary from 2003 to 2007. In 2008, the aircraft left the Gulf Air fleet and was delivered to Transaero. Delivered to Kalitta in early 2017 and converted to a freighter in May of 2018. This aircraft also wears the all-white paint scheme with small Kalitta Air titles.

Kalitta Air Intranet

N765CK: Delivered to Gulf Air in 1992 as a passenger aircraft and then leased to Air Europe for part of 1997. Transferred to Gulf Traveler from 2004 to 2008. In 2008, the aircraft left the Gulf Air fleet and was delivered to Transaero. Delivered to Kalitta in early 2018 and converted to a freighter in October of 2018. This aircraft also wears the all-white paint scheme with small Kalitta Air titles.

N284DH: Delivered to defunct British Airline Britannia Airways in 1996. Alternated years between Britannia Airways and Garuda Indonesia until 2004. In 2004, the aircraft was sold to ThomsonFly and alternated seasons between the ThomsonFly and the Garuda Indonesia fleet. Spent 8 years flying for TUIfly Nordic from 2008 until 2016. The aircraft was then delivered to DHL in 2016 and converted to a freighter in 2017. Initially, the aircraft was to fly for DHL, flying out of the United Kingdom, but was sent to Kalitta instead in 2017. This aircraft is painted in the full DHL paint scheme and flies routes for DHL within the United States.

N739DH: Originally scheduled to be delivered as a passenger aircraft to Continental Airlines and Alitalia in 1995, this aircraft was eventually delivered to Vietnam Airlines via leasing company GECAS in 1996. Flew for Vietnam Airlines until 2004 when it was transferred to British carrier First Choice Airways. Transferred to Thomson Airways in 2009 and flew for them until 2014 when it was returned to lessor GECAS. Leased by Italian Airline Blue Panorama from 2014 until the middle of 2018. Delivered to DHL in late 2018 and converted to a freighter in Singapore. Currently, this aircraft flies for Kalitta as part of a lease from DHL. This aircraft also wears the full DHL paint scheme.

Boeing 777

Recently, Kalitta added another aircraft type to its fleet, the Boeing 777F. It is unknown how many 777 aircraft Kalitta plans to operate, but it could be used to replace some of the older 747 aircraft.

N772CK: Delivered to Emirates SkyCargo in 2009 and flew for them until April 2019. In June 2019, the aircraft was delivered to Kalitta as N772CK and wears an all white paint scheme. This aircraft has not yet entered service and remains stored at Willow Run airport in Michigan.

Featured Image by Alec Mollenhauer/Aeronautics Online

Kalitta Airline

Shannon based GECAS announced an agreement with Kalitta Air for three 777-300ERSF aircraft. Kalitta Air will be the first operator of the new passenger-to-freighter type, adding to their already large all-cargo fleet when the first of these aircraft is delivered in 2023. The Boeing 777-300ERSF will be the largest ever twin-engine freighter. The conversion program is jointly funded by GECAS and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI).

Kalitta Air has over 20 years experience of cargo operations both schedules and charter flights. The airline has a fleet of over 35 aircraft comprised of Boeing 747-400’s, Boeing 767-300’s and Boeing 777-200 freighters.

Kalitta 777 Freighter

The Boeing 777-300ERSF has become known as ‘The Big Twin’ and it will offer 25% more capacity and it is anticipated that The Big Twin will achieve up to 21% lower fuel-burn per tonne than the current 4-engine freighters with the GE90 engines. This was designed specifically for the longer-range Boeing 777 series, providing up to 115,000 lbs. of thrust. In addition to producing the sole-source engine for the 777 variants, GE Aviation will support MRO engine and power-by-the-hour services to ensure continued performance throughout the lifecycle of the converted freighters.

Speaking as the deal was announced, Rich Greener, SVP and Manager Cargo of GECAS said “We are delighted to continue our 15-year relationship with Kalitta Air and proud they’ve become the launch customer with the 777-300ERSF freighter for its future air cargo operations. The 777-300ERSF shares extensive commonality with the production 777-200LRF. That’s a benefit to any operator looking to bring a new type into their fleet. GECAS Cargo has developed a new standard for aviation lessors, leveraging our fleet of passenger aircraft to provide freighter conversion feedstock — for this 777-300ERSF program as well as converting 737-800NG’s, This approach extends the useful life of our aircraft and GE / CFM engines while meeting the need for replacements of retiring freighters and increased demand for dedicated cargo capacity.”

The first aircraft to be converted from passenger to cargo for Kalitta isa former Emirates Boeing 777-300 A6-EBB which was built in 2005. The aircraft was registered to GECAS last January and it was ferried to Tel Aviv in early June to begin the cargo conversion process.

Kalitta Air Cargo