Camex, Texel, Avensis, Challenge preview CF EMEA 2024

The freighter aircraft industry will gather Feb. 5-7 in Amsterdam for Cargo Facts EMEA 2024 to discuss the latest developments in the space. Ahead of the event, several industry leaders join this week’s episode of the “Cargo Facts Connect” podcast.

Joining Cargo Facts Editor Jeff Lee on the podcast are:

• George Seturidze, chief executive of Camex Airlines;
• Michael Hamelink, chief financial officer of Chisholm Enterprises and chief executive of Texel Air;
• Cristian Sutter, chief executive of Avensis Aviation; and
• Or Zak, chief commercial officer for Challenge Group.

Seturidze will join a narrowbody freighter panel on Tuesday, Feb. 6, during the conference. Camex obtained its Georgian AOC in August 2022 and operates a 737-800BCF and a 737-800SF. The company also created a Slovenian offshoot, Camex Adria Airlines, which received its AOC in December.

“I think 2024 will show us a lot of things regarding how the market will be improved for the future,” Seturidze says in this week’s podcast.

Hamelink will also join the Feb. 6 panel discussion. Bahrain-based Texel, which flies two 737-800BCFs, two 737-700FCs and one 737-300F, launched and placed three 737-800BCFs with new subsidiary Texel Air Australasia in 2023.

Wednesday, Feb. 7, will begin with a panel on widebody freighters featuring speakers including Avensis’ Sutter and Challenge Group’s Zak.

Avensis announced its A340 freighter conversion in 2023 with launch customer Universal Sky Courier and is targeting a 2026 certification for this next step in its range of cargo modifications.

Challenge Group operates three airlines based in Malta, Israel and Belgium, and has taken its first of four 767-300BDSF conversions. The group will soon also send the first of four 777-300ERs for conversion with IAI.

“I think if we are looking at the signals at the moment, it seems like the market is stabilizing and hopefully we can see a bit more of what we used to in terms of the seasonality,” Zak tells Cargo Facts.