Bulgaria’s Cargo Air adds first B737-800(SF)

Cargo Air (CGF, Sofia) took delivery of its first B737-800(SF) on May 18, 2021, shortly after the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) issued a supplemental type certificate for the conversion done by Aeronautical Engineers, Inc. (AEI). N364AV (msn 30664) was ferried from Dothan to Miami Int’l on May 11 and was subsequently delivered to Shannon via Bangor over the course of May 17-18, 2021, Flightradar24 ADS-B data shows. The aircraft will become LZ-CGA once registered in Bulgaria. The 20.4-year-old narrowbody, owned by AerCap and previously operated in a passenger configuration by Smartwings (Czechia), is the first of two B737-800(SF)s ordered by Cargo Air last year. The second unit is due to enter conversion in June 2021. The Bulgarian cargo specialist’s current fleet comprises three B737-300(F)s and eight B737-400(F)s, the ch-aviation fleets advanced module shows. Cargo Air initially ordered two B737-800(BCF)s but eventually cancelled them and replaced them with -800(SF)s, citing shorter delivery timeline. The Bulgarian airline is the first operator of the B737-800(SF) in Europe.