A new A300 freighter operator is entering the market next year.

Chex Air, which has offices in Dubai and Miami, expects to begin flying an A300-600F around March 2026 to connect Africa and the Middle East with South America, Head of Operations Sebastian Bolivar says in this week’s episode of “Cargo Facts Connect,” recorded at the Dubai Airshow 2025.

The aircraft will be on lease from United Arab Emirates-based Sky One and operate under Chex Air’s Chilean AOC, Bolivar says.

“If this goes well, we’re going to incorporate a 747 into our fleet,” he says.

There are no A300s or 747s registered in Chile. The most recent South American A300 freighter operator was Venezuela-based Transcarga, which retired its final unit in 2024.

Chex Air plans to bring more jets from the United States and South America to Dubai and the Middle East to cater to strong demand for charter flights, Bolivar says.

“I think our vision for the next five years is to really have a fleet of 747-400Fs [flying] from South America to Dubai and all the way back,” he says. “It’s a great opportunity.”

In this week’s episode of “Cargo Facts Connect,” hear more about Chex Air’s strategy as Bolivar speaks with Cargo Facts Editor Jeff Lee in Dubai.

With the thirty-first annual Cargo Facts Symposium less than a week away, Cargo Facts checked in with four event speakers to discuss some key industry developments that attendees will hear about at the event.

A highlight will be a panel discussion on the various 777 conversions, Anna Kopinski, director of asset valuations at mba Aviation, says in this week’s episode of “Cargo Facts Connect.”

“I’m actually really excited to discuss [the 777] because we’ve been monitoring this aircraft and these converted 777s, only one is coming into service and we’re still waiting on the -200LR, but I think it’s a very interesting space that people are keeping an eye on,” she says.

Mammoth began certification flights with its 777-200LRMF prototype with the FAA in September.

“We’re still looking forward to getting the STC in 2025,” Mammoth Chief Executive Bill Tarpley says on “Cargo Facts Connect.” “That’ll allow us to finish up and deliver at least six of the seven airplanes we have in work.”

Meanwhile, in the narrowbody segment, 2025 continued to be slow, but 2026 may see a slight pickup in activity.

As a lessor supporting some of the smaller carriers in the industry, Hamden Aviation had to become more flexible with its narrowbody freighter customers this year, Executive Vice President Dora Alexander tells Cargo Facts.“I think we’re seeing a lot shorter planning times from a leasing perspective,” she says. “It certainly has provided us with an extra level of challenge trying to meet the needs of our lessees, whether it’s on a question of swapping out engines or expanding their fleet needs.”

The high demand for narrowbody engines in the passenger sector this year has not only proven to be a challenge for lessors but for conversion companies as well.

AEI hopes to complete six to ten 737-800SF conversions in 2026. That number will depend solely on the availability of CFM56-7B engines, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing Bob Convey says.

“If the demand is there for hopefully six to ten conversions, customers have got to, in most cases, find and acquire feedstock on the spot,” he says. “And again, if the engines are just too expensive, that’s going to be very difficult to do.”

AEI will also unveil its next conversion program at Cargo Facts Symposium 2025.

Hear a preview of the discussions to come at the event as Kopinski, Tarpley, Alexander and Convey speak with Cargo Facts Editor Jeff Lee and Senior Associate Editor Robert Luke in this episode of “Cargo Facts Connect.” 

Aircraft cybersecurity is a vital — but often overlooked — part of protecting commercial aviation from bad actors, which is why Cyviation specializes in aircraft risk assessments and solutions.

Herzliya, Israel-based Cyviation, founded in 2021, offers intelligence and monitoring solutions to map possible cyber threats to aircraft and related aviation systems.

Cyviation determines vulnerabilities and monitors multiple platforms and devices, especially those used for communication, to protect commercial aircraft from cyberattacks, according to the company. Cyviation does this through digital twin technology.

Digital twin technology creates a virtual replica of a system that collects and analyzes data in real-time, allowing users to pinpoint weaknesses and predict problems.

“The way we are building [these digital twins] is basically from analyzing data only,” Cyviation Chief Executive Eliran Almog says in this week’s episode of “Cargo Facts Connect.”

Cyviation does not touch the plane, either physically or through software, Almog says.

“We just look at the data — the data of the airplane, the model data and the data [from] maintenance, the specific data of a specific tail number,” he says. “From this data, we basically map the entire network [of] devices, and the connections and communication between the devices, and start to assess, through that digital twin, the vulnerabilities.”

In this week’s episode of “Cargo Facts Connect,” hear about using digital twin technology for commercial aviation cybersecurity as Cyviation’s Almog speaks with Cargo Facts Deputy Editor Yael Katzwer.

Airfreight technology provider CargoAi is using advanced AI software to automate quoting, tracking, emailing and payments.

The company this week launched a unified AI agent to integrate multiple AI functions and tools into a single autonomous software solution.

“The next stage of this AI revolution is the AI agent,” CargoAi founder and Chief Executive Matt Petot says in this week’s episode of “Cargo Facts Connect,” in a discussion on the tool’s development.

CargoCoPilot Agent can automate responses to up to 50% of the emails received by airlines and freight forwarders, according to the company. The multilingual agent can also operate across WhatsApp, partner platforms and CargoAi’s CargoMart platform.

The agent, CargoAi said, can:

• Track air waybills with real-time updates;
• Perform rate and capacity searches using plain language, such as “300 kg SIN to JFK next Tue”;
• Auto-book directly in airline systems; and
• Provide answers to questions relating to ground handling, surcharges, contacts and other frequently asked questions.

CargoCoPilot will enable users to increase productivity as if they had far more employees, Petot said.

“In terms of coding, we have twenty developers in our team,” he said. “We had twenty developers last year, but now every developer is using AI agents, and the output of our developers is much more than before. It's forecasted to double at the end of the year, and that's really exactly the same that I think we can do with airlines.”

In this week’s episode of “Cargo Facts Connect,” hear about the air cargo industry’s growing embrace of AI and new technologies being launched as CargoAi’s Petot speaks with Cargo Facts Deputy Editor Yael Katzwer.

Miami-based startup carrier 7Air Cargo is entering its third month of full commercial operations and gaining experience that is benefiting its parent, The Xtreme Group.

7Air Cargo, formed by The Xtreme Group (TXG), received FAA Part 121 approval in February and began air cargo service in May. It now operates two 737-800SFs and one 737-800BCF, and expects to put a fourth 737-800 freighter into service by yearend.

7Air held an inauguration ceremony with the Miami-Dade Aviation Department in Miami (MIA) on Aug. 15 to commemorate the opening of the airline’s hub at the airport.

For the executive team overseeing 7Air’s daily operations, the ceremony represented a milestone noting its achievements and serving as a reminder of the challenges still to come.

“It’s definitely been a learning curve getting into the airline and cargo industry, since we’re kind of running them side by side,” Chairman and Managing Partner Jose Rodriguez says in this week’s episode of “Cargo Facts Connect.”

“The good thing is that we’ve been able to tackle the different objectives through me and [Vice President of Commercial Operations and Partner Carlos Cock]. Most days, we divide our attention,” Rodriguez says. “I’ll handle the maintenance side of things, and Carlos will manage operations to make sure that we have fluidity and efficiency across the board.”

As executives with years of MRO experience, 7Air’s leadership team is familiar with managing aircraft maintenance for customers, Cock says.

But the tables have turned.

“Now, we are the customer,” he says. “Xtreme Aviation is handling a majority of the maintenance for 7Air and it’s allowed us to really see how important the operational side of things is, making sure that communication is not only key but fluid, and that everybody’s on the same page regarding what we’re doing, enabling us to make changes on the MRO side to better serve our customers.”

In this week’s episode of “Cargo Facts Connect,” hear about the day-to-day operations, challenges and early stage growth of this new carrier as 7Air’s leaders speak with Cargo Facts Senior Associate Editor Robert Luke.

French Polynesia-based Motu Link Airline will soon provide dedicated freighter service across the French Polynesian archipelago as part of the startup’s strategy to align with local ocean shippers and freight forwarders to establish a reliable logistics support system for businesses and residents.

“Motu Link Airline was created to meet a clear logistical need across French Polynesia's widely dispersed islands,” Chief Executive Alexandre Mu says in this week’s episode of “Cargo Facts Connect.” “The project was licensed in 2021 and was restructured in 2024 after market analysis to focus exclusively on dedicated inter-island cargo operations.”

The French Polynesian archipelago has 120 islands, which together are as large as Europe when including the ocean areas between the islands, making it very difficult to provide logistical support to the residents, Head of Marketing and Communications Judith Rodriguez says.

Local carriers such as Air Tahiti Nui and Air Moana tend to focus more on passenger service, so most cargo is distributed by ocean vessels, which could take as long as three weeks to reach the remote islands in the archipelago, Rodriguez said.

Motu took a different approach to acquiring its 2004-vintage ATR 72-500F (713, ex-Binter Canarias) when the startup received more than $3.6 million from the local islanders through crowdfunding.

“We are really looking forward to starting operations because there are high expectations from Islanders around the project,” Mu says. “It will bring many benefits to our economy and further open up our islands.”

In this week’s episode of “Cargo Facts Connect,” hear about the carrier’s unorthodox approach to securing investment capital through crowdfunding and perspective of the local market as Rodriguez and Mu speak with Cargo Facts Editor Jeff Lee and Senior Associate Editor Robert Luke.

Cargolux will change its operations to field a mixed fleet of large-widebody freighters when its new 777-8Fs come online later this decade to begin replacing its older production 747-400Fs.

Introducing the 777-8F platform to Cargolux’s uniform fleet of fourteen 747-8Fs and sixteen 747-400Fs will result in alterations to its operations, President and Chief Executive Richard Forson says in this week’s episode of “Cargo Facts Connect,” recorded at Air Cargo Europe 2025 in Munich this month.

“I think we can make it work, but it will take more managing,” Forson says in a rare public interview. “I think it will take more time, more thinking in advance as to where these aircraft would be deployed at the end of the day, because the last thing I want to be doing is having to break pallets down to rebuild and to put onto another aircraft.”

Cargolux announced in October 2022 a firm order ten 777-8Fs along with options for six after Boeing said at the Farnborough International Airshow 2022 that it had secured Cargolux as a customer for the program.

Cargolux’s fleet has remained the same since 2020 when it picked up a 2006-vintage 747-400F (35170) that had exited service with United Kingdom-based CargoLogicAir.

“My philosophy is I’d rather be short on capacity than long, because if I’m short on capacity, I can always make money during the good times, and when the bad times come along, then obviously I have a lot less exposure to downturns in the market,” Forson says. “And the good years have helped us to build up the resilience of the airline, so our balance sheet is strong and we’ve kept a lot of liquidity in expectation of any downturn in the market.”

For the remainder of 2025, one priority for Forson and Cargolux is being able to adapt to any new trade agreements that come into place as countries around the world grapple with tariffs and war.

“I think that’s the most important thing,” he says. “What is going to happen to global trade?”

Tune in to this week’s “Cargo Facts Connect” to hear more on Cargolux as Forson speaks with Cargo Facts Editor Jeff Lee at Air Cargo Europe 2025 in Munich.

Awesome Cargo is on the cusp of putting its first A330-200P2F into service, joining a small group of carriers operating the type.

“We’re going to paint the aircraft — that’s going to take a couple of weeks — and then the aircraft is going straight into service as soon as we get it registered.,” Awesome Cargo founder and Chief Executive Luis Ramos says in this week’s episode of “Cargo Facts Connect,” recorded at Air Cargo Europe 2025 in Munich this week.

The 2011-vintage, CF6-powered aircraft (1252, ex-ITA Airways) is the first of three A330-200P2Fs Awesome will lease from Air Lease and will soon depart EFW’s facility in Dresden (DRS). The second unit (1218) is nearing completion at DRS while the third (1225) will soon enter conversion, Ramos says.

By mid-2026, Awesome aims to have all three A330-200P2Fs flying trans-Pacific routes.

“For the time being, we still believe Asia, Mexico, the U.S. and Latin America are where we want to operate right now,” Ramos says. “The complexities of extending routes to other markets and other regions with our current setup would be a little aggressive and maybe even a little irresponsible.”

Awesome is the second A330-200P2F Mexican operator after Mas. Six other carriers operate the type:

• Air China Cargo;
• EgyptAir;
• Qantas;
• Air Belgium;
• Turkmenistan Airlines; and
• Capital Airlines.

Awesome Cargo received its Mexican AOC in October 2023 after emerging as a cargo operator earlier that year. Until now, the new carrier had only been flying units 1218 and 1225 with reversibly reconfigured Class E main decks.

“I can’t tell you what the future will bring, but I can tell you that our guard will be up, and I can tell you that we’re going to be enjoying every process and every step of the way,” Ramos says.

Tune in to this week’s “Cargo Facts Connect” to hear more on Awesome as Ramos speaks with Cargo Facts Editor Jeff Lee at Air Cargo Europe 2025 in Munich.

U.S. tariffs against other countries and the elimination of de minimis exceptions are the greatest concerns for the freight forwarder community right now, according to Airforwarders Association Executive Director Brandon Fried.

“We need to freeze tariffs, not freeze trade,” Fried said at CNS Partnership Conference 2025 in Miami last week.

The U.S. imposed a flat 10% tariff against all countries, effective April 5, and has delayed implementation of reciprocal tariffs pending negotiations with affected countries.  

The only country excluded from the reciprocal tariff reprieve is China. Last week, following negotiations, the U.S. dropped its tariff against China to 30% from 145% and China dropped its tariff against the U.S. to 10% from 125%. The lowered tariffs will remain in effect for three months, giving the countries time to negotiate a permanent resolution.

Also, the U.S.’s de minimis exception for goods from China and Hong Kong ended May 2. Under de minimis regulations, companies shipping goods into the U.S. are not required to pay tariffs on shipments valued at less than $800.

The tariff and de minimis changes will adversely affect the air cargo industry, Fried told Cargo Facts.

“We understand that these tariffs were initially set to balance the trade deficit of foreign goods entering the U.S., and that tariffs are a commonplace mechanism of international trade,” he said. “The instability caused, however, by mass tariff implementation, negotiation and bilateral agreements, as well as inevitable disputes over high rates, has hit our industry.”

Tune in to this week’s “Cargo Facts Connect” to hear more about the state of the air cargo industry in today’s political climate as Fried speaks with Cargo Facts Deputy Editor Yael Katzwer at CNS Partnership Conference 2025 in Miami.

BBN Airlines will soon become the newest widebody-freighter operator in Turkey when it starts flying the first Mammoth Freighters 777-300ERMF conversion.

The carrier ventured into the freighter market in 2023, shortly after it got its AOC, with an A321-200P2F (2005, ex-Red Wings) on lease from BBAM and leased another (1094, ex-Aer Lingus) toward the end of that year.

“We started with two. We were a little bit hesitant about the third one, to be perfectly honest,” Fleet Director Douglas Anderson says in this week’s episode of “Cargo Facts Connect,” recorded at Cargo Facts EMEA 2025 in Istanbul this week.

“The third one came, and now we’re talking about perhaps a fourth, because all the business we have with Turkish Airlines is enough for three aircraft, potentially four, and then we do our own ad hoc operations as well, and that’s gradually growing,” Anderson says.

The third freighter (1670, ex-Air Busan) joined BBN’s fleet in September 2024, also on lease from BBAM.

BBN is set to expand even further and enter the widebody segment. The carrier will lease the prototype 777-300ERMF (35299, ex-Nordwind Airlines) from AviaAM Leasing after completion and certification.

“We see that we can’t have one aircraft — it just doesn’t make sense,” Anderson says. “So, we’re probably looking at three, perhaps four. Again, initially, it’ll be with Turkish Airlines, because that’s the easiest way when you’ve only one aircraft, to potentially setting up our own little operation between the Far East and the U.S., pending tariffs, bringing it into Istanbul and then spreading it out using the network.”

However, a lack of Turkish pilots is constraining growth, he says.

Tune in to this week’s “Cargo Facts Connect” to hear more on BBN as Anderson speaks with Cargo Facts Editor Jeff Lee at Cargo Facts EMEA 2025 in Istanbul.

See more coverage of Cargo Facts EMEA 2025.