Sharjah-based charter and cargo airline Aquiline International has picked up four former TransAero
planes. The airline presently has ten planes in its fleet, including a 747-400 freighter.
Now, Aquiline is adding three more Boeing 747-400s and one 777-200ER to the fleet. The
four planes are presently configured as passenger aircraft.
Russian carrier TransAero went bust in 2015 after 25 years of flying. In addition to leaving
a billion-dollar-plus debt in its wake, scores of planes went onto the market, including
many Boeing 747s. Over the years, various operators have snagged bargain former TransAero
aircraft. Now, despite the gloomy aviation industry, Aquiline International is taking
a handful of TransAero planes. After six years of wrangling, Roman Trandafiloff,
CEO at Aquiline International, said in April, quote “now those birds are mine.” Mr Trandafiloff
says he’s chased the former TransAero planes since that airline collapsed. He went on to
say: “Over-regulated owners could not make the
deal fast enough, and we lost about six years in total. Our first attempt failed in 2017
when the owner delayed delivery for over six months, and at that time, we rejected the
deal. “We lost a lot of time and opportunities
with the delay, but I strongly believe that demand for this aircraft will return.”It’s
a brave move, buying gas-guzzling aging 747-400s when the wider aviation industry trend is
towards smaller, more fuel-efficient planes. But Trandafiloff reckons there’s an ongoing
role for the jumbo jets, and he’d like a slice of that pie.
Outside the cargo and charter business, Aquiline International flies under the radar. But anyone
who buys 747-400s has an interesting story to tell, and Mr Trandafiloff and his airline
is no exception. Aquiline began flying in 1999 with a single
leased Antonov An-24 operating out of Brazzaville in the Republic of Congo. Within a year, the
budding airline purchased the plane outright from the lessor and bought a second Antonov
An-24. In 2003, they added a single Combi Antonov 26B-100 to the fleet.
Within a few years, Aquiline has set up shop in the UAE. They began a side hustle modernizing
the navigation equipment on Soviet-made planes. Aquiline brought these planes up to the latest
ICAO standards. It also began picking up contracts to fly cargo and charter operations around
the region, including cargo flights to Afghanistan to support coalition forces.
Initially, Aquiline stuck with Antonov planes, albeit upsizing to fly An-32s. Early last
decade, they began dabbling with Boeings, picking up a few older 737s.
In 2012, Aquiline purchased its first Boeing 747-300BCF, which they promptly wet-leased
to Saudia Cargo, a subdivision of Saudia Airlines. In later years, Aquiline also used the same
plane to service contracts in Afghanistan. These days, according to The Stat Times, Aquiline
has a small but quite interesting fleet that flies a diverse range of operations. They
own four Antonov An-32 aircraft that fly for DHL Aviation and the French Ministry of Defence.
Aquiline has one Boeing 747-400F and a pair of 747-400BCFs it uses for A.C.M.I. leases
and charters. Some of its 737s are on dry lease to Vision Air International in Pakistan,
while three 737-300s and two 747-200Fs appear to be out on contract and flying around Georgia.
Roman Trandafiloff seems unsure exactly what he’s going to do with his four new planes.
But he sounds confident something will come his way. Certainly, the feedback suggests
he’s onto a winner. What do you think of this used-aircraft purchase?
Is it a smart business move? Let us know
in the comments.