Wisconsin’s Air Charter Express inducts first Saab 2000

Air Charter Express (United States of America) (Little Rock) took delivery of the first of four forthcoming Saab 2000s on dry-lease from Jetstream Aviation Capital on October 11, 2021, but has yet to deploy the aircraft into service.

N508FR (msn 2000-008) is a 20.8-year-old turboprop previously operated by Swiss, OFD Ostfriesischer-Flugdienst, and Eastern Airways. It was registered under the current mark on September 24, 2021. ACE ferried it from Springfield, MO to Milwaukee General Mitchell on October 13, Flightradar24 ADS-B data shows. The second unit, N506FR (msn 2000-006), was registered on October 4, 2021, but has yet to be delivered to the carrier.

Parent company Freight Runners Express (FRG, Milwaukee General Mitchell) confirmed that Air Charter Express, its passenger charter division without an Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC), will take four Saab 2000s in total. The other two, which are yet to be ferried to and registered in the US, are G-CDKB (msn 2000-032) and G-CERZ (msn 2000-042), both ex-Eastern Airways and currently parked at Örebro airport, the ch-aviation fleets advanced module shows.

Air Charter Express’s fleet comprises four EMB-120ERs used for passenger charter operations, mainly for collegiate sports teams.

The parent company, which focuses on cargo services, operates five EMB-120ER(F)s, as well as Beech 1900Cs and Beech C99s.