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 Kalitta Air 747-400 in standard livery | |||||||
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| Founded |
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| AOC # | KCSA712A [1] | ||||||
| Hubs | |||||||
| Subsidiaries | Kalitta Charters | ||||||
| Fleet size | 27 | ||||||
| Destinations | 25 (scheduled) | ||||||
| Headquarters | Ypsilanti Township, Michigan, U.S. | ||||||
| Key people | Conrad Kalitta | ||||||
| Website | kalittaair.com | ||||||
Kalitta Air is an American cargo airline headquartered at Willow Run Airport, Ypsilanti Township, Michigan. [2] [3] The company operates international scheduled and cargo charter services. [4] Its call sign "Connie" is from its founder, Connie Kalitta.
In 1967, Conrad "Connie" Kalitta started the airline as Connie Kalitta Services, [5] a business carrying car parts using a twin engine Cessna 310 that he piloted. The airline's name would later become American International Airways in 1984. At this point, the fleet consisted of Boeing 747, Lockheed L-1011, Douglas DC-8, Twin Beech, and Learjet aircraft, for air freight, air ambulance, and charter passenger operations.
The American International Airways brand name was also used by a charter and scheduled passenger airline which in 1981 was operating a hub located at the Philadelphia International Airport with nonstop service to Atlantic City, Boston, Chicago Midway, Cleveland, Detroit, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Norfolk, Orlando, Pittsburgh, Tampa, and West Palm Beach flown with McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30 and MD-80 jets. The airline declared bankruptcy on July 19, 1984, and ceased operations in September. [6] [7] Kalitta, however, continued using the AIA name, as "Kalitta|American International Airways" for cargo-only flights until 1997.
During the late 1980s, the Kalitta brand name continued to appear on many of the company's cargo aircraft. In 1990 and 1991, AIA flew 600 missions in support of Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.
In 1997, AIA merged with Kitty Hawk Inc., and Conrad Kalitta resigned to start Kalitta Leasing for buying, selling, and leasing large aircraft. In April 2000, Kitty Hawk International (the former AIA) ceased operations. Kalitta decided to rescue it and the new airline, Kalitta Air, began operations in November 2000, using the operating certificate and assets of the former airline.
On April 21, 2017, Kalitta Air retired its final Boeing 747-200F from service. This was one of the relatively few then remaining in service. Twenty-six other Boeing 747 aircraft are still active in Kalitta's fleet.
Kalitta Maintenance operates a maintenance, repair, and overhaul facility at Oscoda–Wurtsmith Airport in Iosco County, Michigan.
In 2020, the United States Department of State employed Kalitta Air to evacuate U.S. nationals from Wuhan at the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Citing instructions from the State Department, company Pete Sanderlin declined to give the Detroit Free Press comment. [8] The National Museum of American Diplomacy's collection of artifacts includes a commemorative patch honoring the "Wuhan Evac Team" featuring a Kalitta Air plane. It has the dates "01-27-20 to 02-08-20" and four N-numbers, N705CK, N706CK, N708CK, and N713CK. [9]
The airline provides domestic and international scheduled or on-demand cargo service and support for the requirements of the Department of Defense Air Mobility Command. [10] [11]
In January 2003, Kalitta Air announced the start of scheduled cargo flights from the United States to Europe. The freighters on this service operated from JFK (John F. Kennedy Airport, New York) EWR (Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey) [10] and ORD (O’Hare, Chicago) to AMS (Schiphol, Amsterdam, the Netherlands) and EMA (East Midlands Airport, England). The airline flies scheduled cargo operations between the U.S. and Hong Kong, U.S. and Germany (Leipzig/Halle Airport), U.S. and Korea (for Asiana), Los Angeles and Honolulu. Liège Airport was also used as a regular refueling stop on New York City – Middle East routes and in the Caribbean, Norman Manley International Airport.[ citation needed ]
As of February 2020, Kalitta Air serves the following destinations with cargo flights on a regular, scheduled basis: [12] [13]
As of April 2024, the Kalitta Air fleet consists of the following aircraft:[ citation needed ]
| Aircraft | Total | Orders | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boeing 747-400BCF | 8 | — | |
| Boeing 747-400ERF | 1 | — | |
| Boeing 747-400F | 13 | — | |
| Boeing 777F | 5 | 3 | Currently operated by Emirates |
| Boeing 777-300ER/SF | — | 7 | Launch customer. [15] [16] Deliveries to commence pending Supplemental type certificate (STC) approval from FAA. |
| Total | 29 | 5 |
Previously, Kalitta Air additionally operated the following aircraft types:[ citation needed ]
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Centurion Air Cargo Flight 164 was a chartered international cargo flight, flying from Bogota's El Dorado International Airport while en route to Miami International Airport. The flight was operated by Kalitta Air and the aircraft was wet leased by Centurion Air Cargo. On 7 July 2008, the aircraft, a Boeing 747-209BSF registered as N714CK, crashed shortly after takeoff. All aboard suffered injuries, but none were killed. Two people on the ground were killed after the plane slammed into a farm. The crash was the second crash of a Boeing 747 in 2008 in Kalitta Air service, after a previous accident at Brussels in May.
Kalitta Air Flight 207 (K4207/CKS207) was a scheduled cargo flight between John F. Kennedy Airport to Bahrain International Airport with a technical stopover at Brussels. On May 25, 2008, the Boeing 747-200 suffered a bird strike and overran runway 20 during takeoff at Brussels Airport, causing the aircraft to split into three large pieces. The occupants sustained minor injuries.
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This article incorporates public domain material from the National Transportation Safety Board 
Media related to Kalitta Air at Wikimedia Commons
