LONDON – AFG Aviation Ireland has announced the purchase of one Boeing 757-200 Freighter and a spare RB211 Engine. The aircraft is destined for Georgian cargo airline Geo Sky.
Geo Sky currently operate a fleet of two Boeing 747-200 freighters from their Tbilisi, Georgia base. Despite the average age of their fleet being 35.6 years, this 757 is for an expansion of the airline. It was expected their next order would be to start a fleet modernisation. The expansion was first hinted via a tweet in February.
A further hint had been given in an article to Avia News, with Shalva Kinkadze saying “In the case of our airline, the demand is much higher than the airline can provide services. However, in order to meet the demand and serve more cargo, we need more aircraft. Today, the situation in the world is such that it is quite difficult to find a free cargo Boeing-747. There are certain options, but the process takes a lot of time.”
The aircraft in question, MSN 25622, is a 29.6 year old Boeing 757-28ASF. The aircraft is currently operating for ASL Airlines Belgium as OE-LFE. Throughout its life, the aircraft has operated for various airlines around the globe. Air Seychelles, Air Transat, Air Holland, Air Scotland, Air Finland, Atlas Jet and TNT Airways all operated the aircraft before ASL.
It is not known if Geo Sky has a contract for the aircraft to go onto, or if it will be for charter like their 747 fleet.
Geo Sky Overview
Geo Sky has been operating a fleet of Boeing 747-200 freighters on charter operations since 2017. The airline conducts cargo charters for a verity of shipments. Whilst on a visit to China in May 2021, Geo Sky passed the 116 flight mark.
One of their more unique payloads was a humanitarian mission from the Georgian government to the people of Ukraine caught up in the ongoing crisis. 4L-GEN operated the 03:33 flight from Tbilisi, Georgia to the Polish border town of Lublin.
According to RadarBox, both their Boeing 747-200 aircraft are currently operating between either Paris or Maastricht and Zhengzhou, China. These flights are conducted with a stopover in their Georgian base, Tbilisi. The airline conducts between one and three flights a day on a standard day with these rotations.
In May, Geo Sky became the first aircraft to use the new taxiway at Tbilisi Airport. Whist there is limited information on the new taxiway, it appears to allow aircraft to access the full length of 13R without having to backtrack for departure.
Rotary Ambitions
Alongside the Boeing 747 fleet, Geo Sky also has a helicopter fleet. Earlier in September, the airline ordered an Airbus Helicopters H125 AS350 B3. The aircraft is expected to be delivered in December. The rotary aircraft are operated by TCA Airline, which Geo Sky bought earlier in the year. Alongside the new helicopter, TCA Airline has one H125 AS350 B3, three Leonardo A109K2 helicopters and one Hawker 850XP business jet.
In the future, Geo Sky will be able to undertake C-Check inspections of Airbus Helicopters at their Telavi, Georgia facility.
