Amerijet in recast mode, returns 6 B757 aircraft

Amerijet International Airlines, a leading provider of global air cargo services, announced a successful financial & operational restructuring with the return of six B757 aircraft to lessors and a $55 million capital infusion from existing lenders.

The airline has decided to utilise an all-B767 fleet with a reduced non-pilot headcount "that is aligned with the right-sized fleet and current business demand," says an official release.

Joe Mozzali, Chief Executive Officer, Amerijet says: "With this restructuring, Amerijet is now in a stronger operating and financial position to serve its customers for the long term with the quality of service they have come to expect. The current air cargo environment demands agility and disciplined operational excellence. This definitive action will protect our position as the cargo carrier of choice in our markets.

"We are pleased that we were able to complete this restructuring with the support of our investors and lessors. Our ability to execute this transaction consensually is a strong signal of the strength of our brand, the commitment of our employees and the significant opportunities ahead for Amerijet. These strategic actions have strengthened the company's financial foundation, ensuring its scheduled service, and contract flights will continue to operate as usual."

The announcement provided few details but an industry source with knowledge of the situation said the arrangement involved a distress sale by ZS Fund to another private equity company, FreightWaves reported.

The new ownership forced the board of directors to resign and has named new members, according to the source, the report added.

On time performance in the December quarter was 94.8 percent for Amerijet's contract business while the core scheduled service segment achieved a 97.5 percent completion factor, a two percent year-over-year improvement, the release added.

"Despite a difficult demand environment, Amerijet's December quarter 2023 air freight volumes in its core scheduled service segment increased eight percent versus 2022 and three percent versus the December quarter end for the pandemic year of 2020. The eight percent growth in scheduled service volumes was achieved with 10 percent less flown block hours as Amerijet continues to execute its network optimisation strategy. These strong service levels have propelled recent customer wins including a new contract operating four weekly frequencies between Bogotá and Miami as well a new multi-year contract transporting a global integrator's express and cargo volumes in Central America and the Caribbean."

Amerijet provides approximately 450 million Available Tonne Kilometres (ATKs) of freight capacity throughout its scheduled service region annually, the release added.