Amerijet International (M6, Miami International) is mulling parking more planes as the cargo downturn continues and is grappling with the end of two large US Post contracts, according to a FreightWaves report.

The report says the airline is "paying the price" for expanding rapidly during the Covid-19 era cargo boom and now has surplus aircraft and high overheads without the necessary incoming revenue. Citing a late October internal memo from CEO Joe Mozzali, the report says the airline is considering pulling more aircraft out of service and deferring heavy maintenance.

According to ch-aviation fleets data, Amerijet operates 22 aircraft, including six B757-200(PCF)s, three B767-200(BDSF)s, one B767-300ER(BCF), nine B767-300ER(BDSF)s, and three B767-300Fs, although six of these aircraft - three B757-200(PCF)s, one B767-200(BDSF), and two B767-300ER(BDSF)s are parked. The report notes that two of the parked B757-200(PCF)s, N19012S (msn 26244) and N818NH (msn 29311), are parked with do-not-use orders issued and the third, N286GB (msn 26245), is at San Antonio International for a tear-down inspection. One of the two B767-300ER(BDSF)s, N347CM (msn 25995), is at Istanbul Sabiha Gökcen for component checks while the other, N349CM (msn 26996), is undergoing the same process at México City International. The utilisation of operational B757s is reported to be "extremely low," with some flights operating only 50% loaded with cargo.

"The cargo sector has been faced with headwinds in both cost and demand," Mozzali's memo reads. "It isn’t a secret that these challenges have had an impact on our business performance. We’re addressing these challenges head on..."

Mozzali indicated other aircraft may go out of service, some because of deliberately delayed heavy maintenance checks and others just getting parked. Adding a layer of complexity to the CEO's bid to clean up the carrier's finances is a decision by the United States Postal Service not to renew contracts due to expire at the end of the year. This is part of a broader strategy at the postal service to increase ground transportation and decrease air transportation.

Mozzali replaced Tim Strauss as CEO in April 2023. During Strauss's three year tenure, Amerijet reportedly tripled the size of its fleet.

An Amerijet spokesperson told ch-aviation they closely monitor seasonal trends, economic conditions, global events, and shifts in consumer behavior to forecast and perform network assessments to fine-tune our operations and ensure they align with the needs of our customers and partner. "We are dedicated to adapting to market conditions and focusing on our strong performance," the spokesperson said. "We are actively evaluating new opportunities to add capacity in some higher-volume markets and we recently added two B767 aircraft to our fleet."

Meanwhile, an agreement with Maersk Air Cargo (DJ, Billund) to operate several US - China via Seoul Incheon roundtrip flights each week continue to be hampered by red tape, including the absence of a permanent South Korea-issued foreign carrier permit. The deal is facing pushback from Korean Air (KE, Seoul Incheon), who says the arrangement violates international aviation rules.