Omni Air International has received 180ETOPS approval to fly the 777-200ER in its operations.  Omni is purchasing these aircraft used from United Airlines and that means they’re a bit lower powered and range restricted with the Pratt & Whitney engines than you find on many airlines’ 777-200ERs today.

But it is an interesting development because now we’re seeing 777s moving into charter and freight operations.  Freight operators are purchasing new build 777-200Fs.  Omni performs a variety of charters for both leisure markets as well as the US government.  The US government charters are flights to and from the US to the Middle East/Middle Asia areas. 

I suspect that we’ll see a number of these move into Omni’s operations to displace their DC-10-30s operating those routes today.  

This is a development because it means we’re seeing airlines retire older 777s and charter operations are seeing a use for the aircraft.  That means the cost of ownership and operation for these aircraft has reached an acceptable entry level for these operations.  I would not be surprised to see someone other than Boeing develop a freighter conversion for older 777s that should begin entering the marketplace soon.

Filed under: Airline News by ajax