Cargo Facts Connect

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.

Despite increasing restrictions on global trade and the potential effect on the market, Astral Aviation founder and Chief Executive Sanjeev Gadhia believes new opportunities will emerge in Europe, the Middle East and Africa amid ongoing geopolitical tensions. 

Gadhia will join a panel discussion on the growing narrowbody freighter demand at Cargo Facts EMEA 2025, taking place May 6-May 8 in Istanbul. 

“All in all, I’m feeling very positive and bullish, and I'm also looking forward to actually expressing the same and learning when we meet in Istanbul next week,” Gadhia says in this week’s episode of “Cargo Facts Connect.”

Kenya-based Astral Aviation remains optimistic and has chosen to focus less on geopolitical events and more on the EMEA region, he said.

Astral, which recently took delivery of its first 767-300BDSF (24146, ex-Amerijet) on lease from Palm Beach, Fla.-based Flight Lease, signed a memorandum of understanding with Emirates SkyCargo this year to explore ways to increase global trade, specifically within Africa. 

“I believe that the region is poised to have a major surge with all the geopolitical situations taking place,” Gadhia says. “And I feel very bullish that within the next three months, after the dust has settled … I actually believe that the EMEA region is where I see a lot of new opportunities.”

Tune in to this week’s “Cargo Facts Connect” to hear more on the EMEA market as Gadhia speaks with Cargo Facts Senior Associate Editor Robert Luke.

Astral Aviation is kicking off the next phase of its fleet expansion with the imminent arrival of its first 767-300 freighter.

With two more 767s potentially following in 2025, Astral has obtained its own aircraft maintenance organization certification and will soon conduct its own C check on its 767-200BDSF for the first time.

“In the past, we’ve always outsourced the C checks, but now we’re going to do it ourselves,” Astral founder and Chief Executive Sanjeev Gadhia says in this week’s episode of “Cargo Facts Connect,” recorded at the IATA World Cargo Symposium 2025 in Dubai this week. “So, we’re really excited, because it’s a C4 check and it’s going to be done in-house in Kenya at the Kenya Airways hangar.” 

Astral had expected the 1988-vintage, CF6-powered 767-300BDSF (24146, ex-Amerijet) by the end of 2024 but delays meant the carrier missed the yearend peak season.

“I think the biggest problem that we are all facing right now is the delays,” Gadhia says. “There was a time when those delays were never there, and the delays were there only for the production freighters. Now we are seeing a situation where leased aircraft are also experiencing delays, either because of engine-related issues or avionics.”

The 767-300BDSF is the second new freighter type in the past six months for Astral, which received a 1992-vintage 737-400F (27082, ex-Alaska Airlines) on lease from Avmax in late 2024.

While the global airfreight market tries to navigate the fallout from the trade war, Astral and Kenya are not too concerned. 

“I still believe that Africa would really benefit from this whole opportunity, because generally Africa, with the exception of South Africa and two other countries, is at 10%,” Gadhia says, referring to the tariffs that U.S. President Donald Trump recently imposed on goods from countries around the world.

New Philippines-based carrier Skyway Airlines hopes to expand its fleet and network after stretching its wings with its first international flight earlier this month.

Skyway obtained its AOC in July 2024 after leasing a 1998-vintage 737-400BDSF (29208) from AerCap. It is the first 737-400 freighter operator in the Philippines and intends to add more of the type.

“It took us two and a half years to get our AOC,” founder and Chief Executive Jose Peralta says in this week’s episode of “Cargo Facts Connect,” recorded at Cargo Facts Asia 2025 in Shanghai this week.

“And there’s a prerequisite with the Philippine authorities that you have to demonstrate domestic operations first before you go international. So, there were a lot of preparations, a lot of legal documents that we needed to submit. We had to undergo hearings with the Department of Transportation just to get our permit to operate internationally.”

While the first international flight was from Clark (CRK) to Hong Kong (HKG), Skyway is working on developing other routes and could start flying to Macau (MFM) soon.

“We are applying for our CCAR 129 permit for China,” Director of Business Development and External Affairs Vedant Bhardwaj says. “That’s why we are here. So, we’re looking into that and definitely another destination which we see is Vietnam.”

Domestic operations are challenging because of competition with sea freight rates and belly cargo rates, whereas Skyway can achieve better rates for international e-commerce, for example, Peralta says.

“We’re trying to solve a problem; to connect the islands and also connect the Philippines to the outer regions,” he says. “So, that is the goal, and that is the aim, and hopefully we get to achieve it.”

Tune in to this week’s “Cargo Facts Connect” to hear more on Skyway as Peralta and Bhardwaj speak with Cargo Facts Editor Jeff Lee and Senior Associate Editor Robert Luke at Cargo Facts Asia 2025 in Shanghai.

IATA and carbon-inset platform 123Carbon are developing interoperability between their sustainable aviation fuel registries to increase transparency, avoid emissions reporting errors and streamline certificate management.

The IATA SAF Registry, scheduled to launch in April, aims to help create a global SAF market, IATA stated in January. The registry is designed to enable airlines to document SAF benefits to show compliance with regulatory and voluntary obligations.

The interoperability will focus on three elements: 

• Unique coding and alignment of relevant data points to exchange between registries; 
• A process for the exchange of information to avoid double issuance; and 
• A dispute resolution process.

“Registry interoperability can be quite a few things,” Jeroen van Heiningen, founder and managing director of 123Carbon, says in this week’s episode of “Cargo Facts Connect.” “What we’re doing now is to avoid the redundancies and the double issuance, so to make sure that fuel is not registered on a registry twice, [which could] lead to double counting. It also means that we are aligning the data models that we are using. We’re using the same taxonomy and using the same wording.”

123Carbon’s platform supports fuel suppliers, fleet operators, forwarders and cargo owners in the issuance, management and transfer of environmental attribute certificates (EAC). EACs represent carbon reductions that have been achieved, such as those achieved through SAF, and are then allocated to freight forwarders, cargo owners and others.

The company also offers a book-and-claim solution to SAF suppliers and airlines to allocate company-branded SAF EACs to customers in a private environment.

IATA and the International Civil Aviation Organization have said SAF is the most reliable way to eliminate carbon emissions from aviation in the next twenty-five years. IATA set an aviation industry target of reaching net-zero by 2050.

Tune in to this week’s “Cargo Facts Connect” to hear more on 123Carbon as van Heiningen speaks with Cargo Facts Deputy Editor Yael Katzwer. 

New lessor Hanwha Aviation is exploring adding freighters to its portfolio as part of its growth strategy.

Hanwha Aviation, a subsidiary of South Korea-based conglomerate Hanwha Group, launched in May 2024 and appointed Laura Ivaskaite as vice president of commercial and investments in September.

Ivaskaite joined Hanwha after almost four years looking after the aircraft and engine fleet at SmartLynx, which expanded its fleet to fourteen A321 freighters in 2024.

“The core service, the core of [Hanwha Aviation’s] business, is narrowbody engines, but we will have a small aircraft portfolio as well, and that’s both on the passenger and cargo side,” Ivaskaite says in this week’s episode of “Cargo Facts Connect,” recorded at Engine Leasing, Trading & Finance Americas 2025 and Aero-Engines Americas 2025 in Fort Worth, Texas, in late January.

“So, the whole idea is to build up the leasing platform,” she says. “We’re also looking to have MRO capabilities in an engine shop in the near future.”

Hanwha is “very open” to acquiring freighters, even if that ultimately is an engine-driven move, Ivaskaite says.

“Narrowbody freighters has been an engine play for a lot of people in the last couple of years,” she says. “But I’d probably say that we see the 737-800 freighter market picking up a little bit.”

Singapore-based Hanwha is looking to the Asia-Pacific region as a key market for expansion. The lessor also has offices in Dublin and Boca Raton, Fla.

“We want to really have the expertise in Asia Pacific,” Ivaskaite says. “And at the same time, we recognize that that’s the market that will be growing again, both on the passenger and air cargo side, and there is going to be huge demand for the engines — there already is.”

Tune in to this week’s “Cargo Facts Connect” to hear more on Hanwha as Ivaskaite speaks with Cargo Facts Senior Associate Editor Robert Luke.