Sweden's West Atlantic Group says it has secured a Royal Mail Group (UK) contract to add additional capacity to the postal firm's UK distribution network between 2017 and 2022.
Under the terms of the five-year contract which commences in January 2017, West Atlantic Group will operate nine B737 freighters and three BAe ATP(F)s for Royal Mail on flights across the United Kingdom.
"We are delighted with the results of this tender process," West Atlantic CEO, Fredrik Groth, said. "This award represents a significant commitment from Royal Mail Group to implement an extremely high quality network of dedicated cargo aircraft to support its world class delivery service for the next five years."
The final contract will be subject to Board approval and is expected to be completed in the upcoming weeks.
West Atlantic Group operates two units - West Atlantic Sweden (T2, Malmö) and Atlantic Airlines (United Kingdom) (Coventry) - with aircraft moving between either operation depending on demand requirements.
The Swedish carrier operates two B737-300(F)s, one B737-400(F), three B767-200(SF)s, thirty-three BAe ATP(F)s, and two CRJ(F)s while the UK operator's fleet currently entails six B737-300(F)s and five B737-400(F)s.
Existing customers include: TNT Express, Royal Mail (existing contract), La Poste, and DHL Express.
