The new head of Air Atlanta Icelandic has to think about the future fleet. The Boeing 747 from the Icelandic wet lease specialist is getting older. A new guy is needed.
After 13 years, Hannes Hilmarsson is over. The Icelander has been in charge of Air Atlanta Icelandic since 2006. Now he hands the executive chair over to Baldwin M. Hermasson. A big challenge awaits the new man at the helm of the Icelandic wet lease airline. Because the almost pure Boeing 747 fleet is getting older.
Replacing old aircraft is becoming a problem for Air Atlanta Icelandic. Because other used specimens of the four-emitter that are still in good shape are increasingly difficult to find. It was already clear to Hilmarsson that the airline would have to part with the Boeing 747-400 in the future. “On average, we brought three new aircraft into the fleet each year, but during that time we had to discard or hand over four others,” the manager tells the specialist portal Air Cargo News.
No used market for 747-8 yet
Hilmarsson continues: “It was also always a lot of organization.” To date, Air Atlanta Icelandic has operated twelve Boeing 747-400s in both passenger and freighter variants. Together with a single Airbus A330, the airline helps other airlines with bottlenecks. It is a pure wet lease or ACMI provider (English for aircraft, crews, maintenance and insurance or, in German, aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance).
The question of which type will replace the legendary jumbo jet at Air Atlanta Icelandic in the future remains unanswered. Because what makes the Boeing 747-400 so attractive to society also makes it difficult to replace. Another, equally large aircraft type, which is available as a passenger and freight version, has not yet been available on the used market. The new 747-8 version of the Boeing 747 is still being produced. The cost of the brand new aircraft is too high for the Icelanders in their business model.
More mixed fleet
So the time could be tight for Air Atlanta Icelandic, because their passenger planes will reach the end of their life cycle in three to five years. Management is already considering buying Boeing 777 or A330 as a replacement. Regardless of which of the two twin engines the company decides in this case, restructuring in the aviation offer would be safe.
Up to now, used Boeing 777s have only been available as passenger aircraft, so the purchase of a second type as a freighter means that the cost-saving fleet with almost only one type has been eliminated. This problem would be a thing of the past for the Airbus A330, but the smaller aircraft would result in fewer seats and less transport capacity.
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