Southern Air Inc. is a global air cargo carrier headquartered in Florence, Kentucky, United States. It is a certified U.S. FAA part 121 supplemental cargo carrier and is currently only one of two U.S. based cargo airlines operating the 777F. Southern Air is also the first company to provide ACMI (Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance, Insurance) service for the wide-body Boeing 777F.
The airline operates an all-Boeing fleet of aircraft: Boeing 777F, and the Boeing 737-400SF. Its wide range of services include: long-term ACMI solutions, on-demand commercial charters, as well as Department of Defense Civil Reserve Air Fleet. Southern Air’s operations also support some of the world’s largest combination carriers as well as government agencies and non-government organizations.
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History
The airline was established on 5 March 1999, out of the assets of Southern Air Transport and started operations in November 1999.
On September 7, 2007, Oak Hill Capital Partners acquired majority ownership of Southern Air and merged Cargo 360 into the airline. The company currently has approximately 750 employees.
In February and March 2010, Southern Air took delivery of two Boeing 777 freighters. At the same time, reflecting the change in direction provided by fresh corporate leadership, Southern Air introduced new aircraft livery as well as new corporate branding.
In early 2011, Southern Air entered into a multiple year contract with DHL Aviation; by utilizing the 777's fuel efficiencies, long range and cargo capabilities, SAI was able to augment DHL's overnight express package delivery service through hubs in Cincinnati, Bahrain, Hong Kong and Anchorage, increasing package delivery options provided by DHL to its customers.
The same year Southern Air announced plans to gradually retire the fleet of Boeing 747-200 and 747-300 with 747-400BDSF models with the first delivery expected in late 2011.
In addition to DHL, Southern Air flies charter contracts for Lufthansa Cargo, MASkargo, Ethiopian Airlines, Saudia, TNT, UPS (seasonal) Centurion Air Cargo and the United States Department of Defense.
On 28 September 2012, Southern Air voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection with the support of a majority of their key financial stakeholders. Daily operations are not affected.
In 2014, Southern Air took delivery of five 737-400SF passenger-to-cargo converted aircraft.
