Air Belgium Bids Farewell to Last A330-200F as Focus Shifts in Fleet Restructuring

In a recent revelation by ch-aviation research, Air Belgium (KF) has officially retired its last A330-200F, marking a significant shift in the carrier’s fleet strategy. The retired aircraft, with registration OO-SEA and manufacturer serial number 1594, concluded its final long-term ACMI (Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance, and Insurance) contract with Air France at the end of September.

The conclusive journey for OO-SEA included its last cargo charter, a single flight from Marseilles to N’Djamena and back on October 5, as per Flightradar24 ADS-B data. Following this mission, the aircraft was ferried from Brussels National to Châteauroux Déols Marcel Dassault on October 16, marking its return to the lessor.

OO-SEA was part of Air Belgium’s cargo operations involving four ex-Qatar Airways freighters under a Crew, Maintenance, and Insurance (CMI) agreement with the French logistics giant CMA CGM. Notably, the other three freighters have already transitioned to the in-house carrier CMA CGM Air Cargo.

Air Belgium’s current cargo fleet is composed of two A330-200(P2F)s and three B747-8Fs, with one B747-8F temporarily parked for maintenance. Alongside the cargo fleet, the airline operates two A330-200s and two A330-900s. The retirement of the A330-200F comes in the midst of Air Belgium’s judicial restructuring, a strategic move made after discontinuing its “chronically unprofitable” scheduled passenger operations. The carrier is realigning its focus and optimizing its fleet for enhanced operational efficiency in the evolving aviation landscape.