US-based Kalitta Air orders Airbus freighter jets, sources say

By Tim Hepher, Dan Catchpole and Allison Lampert

Oct 9 (Reuters) - US military and commercial freight contractor Kalitta Air has ordered eight Airbus A350F freighters as it looks beyond long-time supplier Boeing to tap European capacity for the first time, three people familiar with the order said.

Airbus, which declined to comment on any commercial discussions, posted the deal as a firm contract in a recent orders update without identifying the buyer, the people said.

Michigan-based Kalitta Air said it was evaluating the jet but had yet to make a decision.

"Kalitta Air is evaluating the Airbus A350F platform as part of our long-term fleet planning," an airline spokesperson said.

"At this time, we remain in the evaluation phase and have no aircraft order to announce." 

Founded in 2000 by drag-racing legend Conrad "Connie" Kalitta, the airline traces its roots to a business he set up in 1967 to transport car parts in his own self-piloted Cessna.

It now has a fleet of more than two dozen Boeing 747 and 777 freighters working scheduled and one-off cargo charter flights for customers including the Pentagon and US Postal Service.

Long dominated by Boeing, the market for air freighters is heating up after Airbus launched the A350F to challenge the out-of-production Boeing 747 and two versions of the Boeing 777.

Airbus data shows an order for eight freighters on August 31 without identifying the buyer. That is a common practice whenever airlines want to shield their expansion plans from rivals for as long as possible.

One of the people said an airline's decision to expand its fleet could typically be used as a bargaining chip in pilot negotiations, meaning there was no incentive to make it public.

A spokesperson for the Air Line Pilots Association, which represents Kalitta Air pilots, said its members had been in negotiations with the carrier's management since late 2024.

(Reporting by Tim Hepher, Dan Catchpole and Allison Lampert; Editing by Tomasz Janowski and Alexander Smith)