Astral Aviation will decommission its three narrow-body trijet Boeing 727-200F in its fleet as it introduces the 757-200F platform to its fleet, reports Cargo Facts.
The airline has reportedly phased out its 46-years-old (5Y-MWM) aircraft at the end of October after seven years operating the aircraft.
The airline will briefly operate the remaining two 727-200Fs (msn 22462 and msn 21459) in its fleet but plans to phase out the units in 2023, the airline said. The 1978-vintage unit 21459 currently remains in storage in Kingman but will soon be ferried to Astral’s base in Nairobi for C-check.
However, going forward, both msn 21459 and the only active B727 in Astral’s fleet, 5Y-NIV (msn 22462), will be retired in 2023 and replaced with the newly leased B757-200(PCF)s.
Astral Aviation itself has been a platform for the growth of new freighter types, becoming the first known operator to add Embraer’s new E-Jet conversion to its orderbook.
The airline has additionally invested in future aircraft design by partnering with California-based Reliable Robotics to explore automated cargo ops with autonomous Cessna 208 Caravan operations.
Keen to add to its widebody fleet, which currently stands at a sole 767-200BDSF, Astral has also signaled its intentions to add up to four A330-300P2Fs along with more 767Fs. The cargo airline also hopes to add B777-300ERSFs to its fleet and is in negotiations with AerCap to receive two of the types in 2024 and 2025.
Featured image: @indian_spotter
