Global Crossing Airlines moves closer to Colombia cargo charter airline

Global Crossing Airlines Group (GlobalX) is moving closer to establishing a Colombia-based ACMI cargo charter airline.

GlobalX has confirmed the start of Phase 2 of the Colombia AOC (Air Operators Certificate) certification process by its subsidiary GlobalX-Colombia.

Initial approval from the Colombian Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to start the formal certification was received in June.

GlobalX-Colombia is led by Roberto Held, former chief financial officer of Avianca and now a senior advisor to GlobalX.

Held will become chief executive of the subsidiary upon final certification.

In the coming weeks GlobalX-Colombia will be submitting all flight operations, and maintenance/technical manuals for Phase 2 for review by the Colombian CAA.

The certification process is being led in Bogota by a team of experts and advisors.

Final AOC approval is expected by the end of the first quarter of 2023 when GlobalX will assign A321 freighters from its US operation to the Colombian AOC.

“We are committed to establishing an ACMI cargo charter airline based in Colombia to serve our growing list of Latin carriers and customers with our A321 freighter fleet,” said Ed Wegel, chairman and chief executive of GlobalX.

“We will become the first operator of the A321F in Latin America. This aircraft, with its greater volume capacity of 40% more than its nearest competitor, is an excellent option for Latin airlines and cargo forwarders who need less than widebody volume and cost on certain routes.”

GlobalX was originally a passenger ACMI and charter airline serving the US, Caribbean, and Latin American markets, but has been investing in P2F aircraft to move into the cargo market.

In October 2020, GlobalX announced plans to lease 10 converted Airbus A321 freighters from Vallair, while in May 2021 it signed an LOI to lease five A321s with ST Engineering’s Aviation Asset Management unit.

In June this year, GlobalX signed an MoU with Chinese e-commerce logistics provider FreightCloud to develop e-commerce cargo routes between China and the US, using Airbus A321Fs from next year before switching to GlobalX-owned A330Fs.

The company also signed a definitive agreement with Icelease in August to convert an Airbus A321 aircraft into freighter format to be leased to GlobalX for eight years.