GECAS to lease two 737-800 freighters to Atran Airlines

Oct 12, 2018: Russia-based air freight carrier Atran Airlines has inked a lease agreement with GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS) for two 737-800 freighters.

The scheduled express cargo carrier within Volga-Dnepr Group currently operates a fleet of three Boeing 737-400 freighters and with the delivery of these two new passenger-converted aircraft, Altran’s fleet will be increased to five.

The aircraft are scheduled to be phased in during the remainder of 2018 and in the first half of 2019.

Boeing 737-800 freighters are perfectly suited to short and mid-range routes which form the basis of Atran’s scheduled network.

From its base at Moscow's Vnukovo International Airport, the carrier provides dedicated cargo services for mail and express shipments on routes linking Europe, Russia and CIS in the most effective manner.

The company also specialises in leveraging growing volumes of e-commerce shipments, accommodating cross-border online purchases.

“GECAS is excited to provide these converted 737-800 freighters to Atran Airlines as they begin investments in the next generation freighter,” stated Richard Greener, GECAS’ SVP & manager Cargo Aircraft Group.

Paul Nolan, Cargo Logic Management’s Fleet Development director said: “These newly converted 737-800 freighters will assist Atran Airlines in achieving its strategic objectives and serving customers in e-commerce and express services on Russia-China routes. Being equipped with CFM56-7B24 engines, the narrow-body 737-800 freighter is able to carry up to 23.5 tonnes of cargo, which will guarantee much-needed capacity.”