Berry Aviation (BYA, San Marcos) will take delivery of its first Saab 2000(F), ES-NSJ (msn 2000-037), a converted freighter that took to the skies in its new guise for the first time this week in a flight facilitated by NyxAir (OJ, Tallinn Lennart Meri).

The prototype Saab 2000 freighter performed a 59-minute post-maintenance test flight at Örebro on the morning of March 6, ch-aviation analysis of Flightradar24 ADS-B data shows, a flight that was operated under NyxAir’s AOC authority.

The Saab (Sweden) turboprop had been in the workshops since last autumn for the extensive rebuild and will undergo further flight testing in the coming weeks, Örebro-based MRO provider Täby Aviation Maintenance said. It, along with at least one additional Saab 2000 freighter, is committed under a long-term lease with Berry Aviation and will be delivered following completion of EASA and FAA certification, currently anticipated by mid-2023.

Berry Aviation took delivery of its first Saab aircraft, a Saab 340B(F), in January. According to the ch-aviation fleets module, the airline also operates five DHC-6-300s, one DHC-8-200, six DHC-8-Q200s, seven EMB-120ER(F)s, one EMB-120RT, two EMB-120RT(F)s, two Metroliner(F)s, two Beech (twin turboprop) King Air 300s, and one Cessna (single piston) 206T.

Jetstream Aviation Capital dry-leases the Saab 340B(F) to the American airline, which operates a mix of cargo and government services, and the Miami International-based lessor also owns and manages ES-NSJ.

Previously in use with Eastern Airways (T3, Humberside) as G-CIEC and stored at Örebro since May 2019, work on the conversion of the 26.9-year-old aircraft had been due to start in January 2022, but the Swedish MRO specialist said there had been “delays in the conversion process.”

The turboprop was initially operated by Swiss as HB-IZU between March 1996 and June 2002 and afterwards had spells at OFD Ostfriesischer-Flugdienst, OLT Express Germany, and Darwin Airline before joining Eastern in March 2014, the ch-aviation fleets history module shows.