Ameriflight (AMF, Burbank) has agreed to lease fifteen Saab 340B(F)s from Jetstream Aviation Capital to match the "unprecedented demand for the company's services".
The Californian cargo specialist said the first of the fifteen aircraft would join its fleet in the fourth quarter of 2022.
"This aircraft offers the market the best combination of cubic capacity and cost, which will be best suited for our customers and their increasing needs for years to come," Chief Executive Officer Paul Chase said.
The Saab (Sweden) turboprops will become Ameriflight's largest aircraft to date. The Part 135 scheduled cargo carrier operates over 150 freighters, including forty-one Swearingen SA227 Metroliners, twenty-five Beech 1900Ds, fifty-two Beech (twin turboprop) 99s, and thirteen E120s. Its network focus is on the US north-west (out of Portland International and Spokane International), south-west and California (out of Burbank, Ontario International, and Phoenix Sky Harbor), Texas (Dallas/Fort Worth and San Antonio International), Nebraska (Omaha Eppley), and the north-east (Cincinnati International, Lansing, and Manchester, NH). It also has bases in Puerto Rico at San Juan Luis Muñoz Marin and Aguadilla.
Jetstream Aviation Capital is the world's largest lessor of Saab aircraft with 79 units in its current portfolio, including seven Saab 340A(F)s, nineteen Saab 340Bs, eleven Saab 340B(F)s, and nine Saab 340B(Plus)es, the ch-aviation fleets ownership module shows. The lessor's largest customer for the Saab 340 Family aircraft is IBC Airways (II, Miami International) with eight. The lessor confirmed to ch-aviation that the first two of the fifteen aircraft will be G-RVGB (msn 340B-192) and G-LGNE (msn 340B-172). The former was retired by the previous operator, RVL Aviation, on May 9, 2022, while the latter has recently been used as a testbed by Saab.
