Kalitta Air

Kalitta Air
IATA code :	K4
ICAO code :	CKS
Call sign :	CONNIE
Founding:	1981 (as American International Airways)
Seat:	Ypsilanti , Michigan , United States
Home airport :	Willow Run Airport
IATA prefix code :	272
Management:	Conrad Kalitta ( CEO )
Fleet size:	36
Aims:	National and international
Website:	www.kalittaair.com

Kalitta Air (originally American International Airways ) is a US cargo airline with headquarters in Ypsilanti and maintenance base at Willow Run Airport there . It is named after the company owner Conrad Kalitta (* 1938, CEO ).

history

Kalitta Air headquarters in Ypsilanti, Michigan.

Conrad "Connie" Kalitta, who took part in drag races as a successful driver , bought a Cessna 310 in 1967 which he used to deliver auto parts that he had tested himself. In 1973, he converted his Detroit- based sole proprietorship into the charter airline Connie Kalitta Services (CKS). The company initially used its aircraft primarily in ad hoc freight traffic for the automotive industry. During the 1980s, the company put Douglas DC-8 cargo aircraft into service.

In early 1991, Conrad Kalitta acquired the insolvent American International Airways , which had been founded in Atlantic City in 1981 . He also took over the Air Operator Certificate of this company, which made international scheduled flights possible. Conrad Kalitta transferred the commercial aircraft previously used as freighter by Connie Kalitta Services to his new company, which was named Kalitta American International Airways . In the same year, Kalitta American International Airways flew around 600 military charter missions to support US troops in the Second Gulf War . In spring 1995, their fleet consisted of 22 Boeing 727s , 6 Boeing 747s , 25 Douglas DC-8s and 4 Lockheed L-1011s .

In November 1997, the Kitty Hawk Group holding company bought several Kalitta Group companies, including Kalitta American International Airways , which was then renamed Kitty Hawk International . After the company got into economic problems, Conrad Kalitta bought the company back in April 2000 and renamed it Kalitta Air . Flight operations have been under this name since November 2000.

After Emirates SkyCargo phased out three Boeing 777Fs in the summer of 2019 due to weak global demand in the air freight sector, Kalitta Air took over one of the machines and is operating this aircraft type for the first time in its history.

Destinations

Kalitta Air operates global cargo flights in charter and liner services. Since 2003 Kalitta Air has regularly operated the routes from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York and O'Hare International Airport in Chicago to Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam and Nottingham / East Midlands as well as between the USA and Hong Kong .

In Germany, there are regular flights to Leipzig / Halle Airport and the US Air Force Base Ramstein . Some of the flights are also carried out on behalf of third parties, for example Kalitta Air works for the Air Mobility Command , for which it transports soldiers and military equipment to the areas of operation in Asia (e.g. Kabul ). Kalitta Air also operates aircraft for DHL Aviation .

fleet

Current fleet

Kalitta Air Boeing 747-400F

As of May 2020, Kalitta Air's fleet consists of 36 aircraft with an average age of 21.8 years:

Aircraft type	number	ordered	Remarks	Cargo capacity (in tons, rounded)	Average age (May 2020)
Boeing 747-400F / BCF	24			112.6 / 123.6	22.3 years
Boeing 767-300ERF	09		Partly operated for DHL	850	26.5 years
Boeing 777F	03		Operated for DHL	102.8	03.9 years
total	36				21.8 years

Former aircraft types

Former Douglas DC-9 of the Kalitta

In the past, Kalitta Air used the following types of aircraft, among others:

• Cessna 310
• Douglas DC-8
• Douglas DC-9
• Boeing 727
• Boeing 747 -100 / -200 / -300
• Lockheed L-1011

Incidents

The N704CK crashed on May 25, 2008 in Brussels

Kalitta Air has two aircraft losses . Her predecessor Kalitta American International Airways recorded another total loss :

• On August 18, 1993 crashed Douglas DC-8-61 ( license plate : N814CK ) approaching the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base due to a stall from. The machine broke on impact, went up in flames and was completely destroyed. The three crew members survived the accident in the cockpit section, which was torn off and thrown away in the impact (see American International Airways flight 808 ) .
• On May 25, 2008, a Boeing 747-209F ( N704CK ) that was supposed to transport 76 tons of freight to Bahrain had an accident at Brussels-Zaventem Airport . The machine came off the runway and broke into three parts. All five crew members were able to use the evacuation slides to get to safety, four of whom were slightly injured in the incident.
• On July 7, 2008, the Boeing 747-209B ( N714CK ) had an accident shortly after take-off from Bogotá . She was on her way to Miami on behalf of Air Cargo . The plane crashed into a house from a low altitude shortly after takeoff and buried two residents under it. The plane broke apart, but the eight crew members of the flight survived the accident almost unharmed.

Trivia

• For the film Air Force One with Harrison Ford in the lead role, a Boeing 747-146 from Kalitta American International Airways was repainted in the colors of Air Force One and used for corresponding film sequences.

See also

• List of airlines
• Kalitta Charters
• Kalitta Charters II

Web links

Commons : Kalitta Air  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Website of the Kalitta Air (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ JP airline-fleets international, Edition 90/91
2. ↑ ^{a b} JP airline-fleets international, Edition 92/93
3. ↑ ^{a b c d} JP airline-fleets international, Edition 95/96
4. ^ Securities and Exchange Commission, Kitty Hawk Inc., April 1, 1999 nasdaq.com, accessed April 2, 2018
5. ↑ Former Emirates 777 F now flies in the US www.aerotelegraph.com, accessed July 18, 2019
6. ↑ Flightradar24: Live Flight Tracker - Real-Time Flight Tracker Map. Retrieved May 2, 2020 . 
7. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Kalitta Air Fleet Details and History. In: planespotters.net. May 20, 2020, accessed on May 27, 2020 . 
8. ↑ Boeing 747-400. In: kalittaair.com. Retrieved May 27, 2020 (American English). 
9. ↑ Boeing 767-300ER Freighter. In: kalittaair.com. Retrieved May 27, 2020 (American English). 
10. ↑ Boeing 777F. In: kalittaair.com. Retrieved May 27, 2020 (American English). 
11. ↑ Data on the airline Kalitta Air in the Aviation Safety Network , accessed on October 8, 2013.
12. ^ NTSB, Official Accident Report, American International Airways, Douglas DC-8-61, N814CK, August 18, 1993 libraryonline.erau.edu, accessed April 4, 2018
13. ↑ Aircraft accident data and report of the accident on May 25, 2008 in the Aviation Safety Network (English)
14. ↑ aerosecure (Simon Widmaier): Boeing 747 breaks in two . aerosecure.de, May 25, 2008
15. ↑ Aircraft accident data and report of the accident of July 7, 2008 in the Aviation Safety Network (English)
16. ^ George C. Larson, Tony Reichhardt: The Making of Air Force One. Of course you realize nothing like this could ever happen. Air & Space Magazine, September 1997, accessed December 24, 2014 . 
17. ↑ History of all Boeing 747s built . Airfleets.com