American cargo airline
Polar Air Cargo Worldwide Inc.
is a
cargo airline
based in
Purchase, New York
, United States.
[2]
It operates scheduled all-cargo services to
North America
,
Asia
,
Europe
, and the
Middle East
. Its main base is
Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport
, with hubs at
Los Angeles International Airport
,
Hong Kong International Airport
,
Narita International Airport
and
Incheon International Airport
near Seoul, South Korea.
[3]
Polar's parent company is
Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings
and
DHL
has a 49% equity interest in the airline.
History
[
edit
]
Polar was formed in 1993 as a joint venture between
Southern Air Transport
and
GE Capital Aviation Services
(GECAS). It started operations in June 1993 and began with charter flights, later adding scheduled services. During 1994, Polar was certified as a supplemental air carrier by the
Federal Aviation Administration
and on 4 July 1994 as a US all-cargo carrier by the
United States Department of Transportation
. After several years of continued growth, the remainder of the company was acquired by GECAS.
[
citation needed
]
In November 2001, Polar was acquired by Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings (AAWW), whose
Atlas Air
subsidiary is a provider of
ACMI
(aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance) freighter leasing. Polar became the scheduled service provider for AAWW, while Atlas continued to supply
Boeing 747-400
freighters on a wet-lease basis to major airlines. In October 2006, it was announced that
DHL Express
would be acquiring a 49% stake in Polar.
[4]
As of March 2007
[update]
, Polar is still majority-owned by Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings (51%) and has 736 employees.
[3]
In April 2023 Former Polar Air Cargo COO Lars Winkelbauer was arrested in Thailand and charged, along with 10 others, with defrauding the company of an estimated $52m.
[5]
Destinations
[
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]
Scheduled services
[
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]
Polar provides scheduled freight service covering the transpacific, transatlantic, trans-Asia, and Middle East markets. Polar offers frequent flights to China, connecting Shanghai to the United States and multiple points in Asia and Europe, e.g.,
Leipzig/Halle Airport
in Germany &
East Midlands Airport
in the United Kingdom
[6]
Charter services
[
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]
Polar Air Cargo also offers its customers charter freight services, using its fleet of Boeing 747 and 767. Polar and its sister company, Atlas Air, also do extensive work for the
U.S. Air Force
’s
Air Mobility Command
(AMC).
Fleet
[
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]
Current fleet
[
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]
The Polar Air Cargo fleet consists of the following aircraft:
[7]
Former fleet
[
edit
]
Polar Air Cargo formerly operated the following aircraft:
[8]
References
[
edit
]
Sources
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
Official website
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Europe
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Americas
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Asia-Pacific
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Middle East / Africa
| |
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Former operators
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Italics indicate former operators
|