Azerbaijan's Silk Way West adds wet-leased B737 freighters

Russia's Sky Gates Airlines takes first Il-96-400T

Azerbaijan's Silk Way sees A350F as bridge between B777s

Silk Way West Airlines (7L, Baku Heydar Aliev International) has selected the A350F as a type to bridge the gap between the arrival of the last of its five firm-ordered B777-200Fs in 2027 and the start of the deliveries of its B777-8Fs, its president and chief executive Wolfgang Meier explained during an interview with STAT Media.

"When you look at the delivery slots of our five B777-200Fs, the last delivery will be in 2027 and then there will be a gap until the new orders of the B777-8Fs. This gap we're going to fill with new A350Fs. Both aircraft [the A350F and the B777-8F] are really convincing models in terms of fuel efficiency and environmental friendliness," he stressed.

He did not reveal the exact timeline for the deliveries of the B777-8Fs but stressed that Silk Way West Airlines strategically preferred not to be among the early operators of a newly certified type. As the first passenger variant, the B777-9, is expected to enter into service in 2025, Boeing estimates that...

Azerbaijan's Silk Way West takes first B777-200F

Silk Way West Airlines (7L, Baku Heydar Aliev International) took delivery of its first B777-200F on September 30, 2023, as it embarks on a fleet modernisation programme. The aircraft is the airline's first twinjet freighter.

VP-BMG (msn 67454) was ferried directly from Everett to Baku Heydar Aliev International over the course of September 29-30.

"Delivery of this aircraft marks a defining moment in our strategic plan to make Silk Way West Airlines greener, more fuel efficient, and better positioned for growth from conception to reality. This expansion of the fleet will open up opportunities for Silk Way West Airlines to boost the volume of flights and extend our reach to additional strategic destinations, reflecting the growing importance of our home base of Baku as a regional and global transportation hub," VP Commercial Operations Fadi Nahas said.

The Azerbaijani cargo specialist currently operates seven B747-400FSCDs and five B747-8Fs. It has a further four B777-200Fs on firm order from Boeing, alongside two B777-8Fs (with two more options). It...

Russia urges against int'l ops of GTLK-owned aircraft

Russia’s civil aviation regulator (Rosaviatsiya) has issued a recommendation to all carriers to avoid using aircraft leased from GTLK - State Transport Leasing on their international routes due to the risk of seizure, the Interfax newswire reported citing unnamed sources.

The advice is not directly due to international sanctions imposed on Russia and the state-owned lessor but rather due to ongoing bankruptcy proceedings against GTLK's Irish subsidiaries. The aircraft were attached in the ongoing proceedings and could be seized by creditors rather than by sanctions-enforcing authorities, the regulator cautioned.

The recommendation is not binding on the airlines.

GTLK Europe DAC and the related GTLK Europe Capital DAC are currently in liquidation. In August, the High Court of Ireland ruled that their assets should be held in a trust on behalf of non-Russian creditors and bondholders. The liquidation process is complicated by the asset freeze on GTLK property in the European Union.

The ch-aviation fleets ownership module shows that after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, GTLK consolidated its assets in Russia....