Atlas Air
Atlas Air, Inc., is an American cargo and passenger charter airline and aircraft lessor based in Purchase, New York.
The airline was named after Atlas, a Titan in Greek mythology, who carried the heavens on his shoulders. Their symbol on the plane's tail is a golden man carrying a golden world.
History
Atlas Air Boeing 747-200
The airline was founded in April 1992 by the late Pakistani American aerospace enthusiast Michael Chowdry, to specialize in the long-term contract outsourcing of its Boeing 747 aircraft based on the ACMI model. Under this new program, Atlas Air Cargo planes would be available to other airlines under long-term leases. It started operations in 1993 with one Boeing 747 contracted by China Airlines. In 1995, Atlas began trading publicly on NASDAQ and in 1997, appeared on the New York Stock Exchange. Also in 1997, Atlas placed an order for 10 new, more advanced Boeing 747-400 Freighters (Boeing 747-400F), increased to 12 in 1998. An initial public offering of 4 million shares was made in August 1998. In July 2004 the parent company completed its restructuring plan and emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.[4]
In March 2010 Atlas Air was awarded a nine-year contract for the operation of the Boeing 747 Large Cargo Freighter (LCF) 'Dreamlifter' for transporting aircraft parts to Boeing from suppliers around the world. It commenced operation in September 2010 under a CMI (Crew, Maintenance and Insurance) contact.
Atlas Air Boeing 767-300ER
In 2011, Atlas Air took delivery of the first three of what would be nine Boeing 747-8 Freighters (Boeing 747-8F).
In September 2012, Atlas Air won a contract awarded by the Air force to provide training for the pilots and crew of Air Force One. Also providing training for the Presidential Airlift Group for a five-year fixed price contract.
January 2013, Altas Air among eleven others were awarded part of a $694 million contract from US TRANSCOM. It is a 5-year indefinite delivery/quantity for international commercial air cargo transporters. To transport hazardous material and life and death cargo services for domestic and International ships.
July 2012, three contracts under the 'Theater Express II program', were awarded by US TRANSCOM. To provide air cargo pickup and delivery for U.S. Central Command. They will compete for individual orders over lifetime of the contract, with one year option periods. In total they will be competing for the $2.916 billion total over the next four years.
Operations[edit]
Atlas Air operates flights on an ACMI (Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance and Insurance) and Air Charter basis for some of the world's leading airlines, express operators, freight forwarders, charter brokers, global shippers and the U.S. Military, along with a dry-leasing subsidiary, Titan Aviation Leasing.
For its ACMI and wet-leasing operations operations, Atlas Air's crew bases are located at Miami International Airport, New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, Los Angeles International Airport, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, Anchorage International Airport, Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport, and Huntsville International Airport. The parent company is Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAWW).
Destinations
Atlas Air carries freight worldwide, including destinations throughout Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia and the Pacific, as well as Latin America. Specific destinations vary due to changing customer's needs and seasonal air cargo trends.
Fleet[edit]
The Atlas Air, Inc. fleet operated by Atlas Air and Polar Air Cargo consists of the following aircraft (as of March 2014): This list does not include aircraft owned by the Titan Aviation Leasing subsidiary.
Passenger service
In October 2009, Atlas Air was selected to operate an outsourced premium passenger private charter service for the U.S.-Africa Energy Association (USAEA). The Agreement to operate the charter was reached with SonAir—Serviço Aéreo, S.A. (SonAir), acting as agent for the USAEA.
This new service replaced World Airways in May 2010, and Atlas operates the charter service with two newly customized Boeing 747-400 aircraft provided by SonAir's parent company. The aircraft are laid out to serve 189 passengers and consists of a 3 class configuration.
The charter service, which has become known as the "Houston Express", includes three dedicated weekly non-stop flights between Houston and Luanda, Angola. While it is not open to the public, it provides USAEA members with a premium non-stop transportation link to support complex long-term projects in the West African energy sector.
The airline also charters service with a pair of 747-400s configured with 474 seats and a trio of 767-300ERs with 255 seats as of June 2012.
Dry leasing
In addition to the aforementioned ACMI and wet-lease operations, Atlas Air also operates a dry leasing subsidiary called Titan Aviation Leasing, dry-leasing passenger and cargo aircraft to other airlines. Through Titan Aviation, Atlas Air currently owns 10 planes for dry-leasing to other operators - six Boeing 777 freighters, one Boeing 757 freighter, two Boeing 737-800 passenger aircraft (one stored), and one Boeing 737-300 freighter.
Safety issues
During early 2010, an Atlas Air aircraft was involved in a safety and maintenance incident. In February, the cover of part of the flap assembly on a Boeing 747 detached from the aircraft, which was in the process of landing in Miami, Florida. On 17 May, a similar incident occurred; in this case, part of the inboard flaps on the right wing of a Boeing 747 separated from the aircraft. Due to alleged improper maintenance practices, the US Federal Aviation Administration on 5 May proposed a roughly $500,000 fine against the airline. The airline is fighting the allegations.
