ATW Daily News

Atlas expands into premium-passenger charter service

Monday October 26, 2009

Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, the 747 wet-lease freighter specialist, announced Friday that it has won a contract to operate "outsourced premium-passenger private charter service" between Houston Intercontinental and Luanda using two customized executive-class 747-400s provided by Angola's SonAir. The "Houston Express" charter service will ferry members of the US-Africa Energy Assn. between the US's primary oil center and West Africa on thrice-weekly flights. The service is not open to the public.

AAWH subsidiary Atlas Air will receive undisclosed, contractually determined revenue for operating the aircraft, with SonAir assuming responsibility for passenger revenue and certain direct costs, including fuel, AAWH said. President and CEO William Flynn said outsourced charter passenger service is the "next and important step for our company." SonAir is a subsidiary of Sonangol Group, the Angola-based multinational energy company. USAEA members are US energy companies that explore and develop West African petroleum resources.

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