Challenge Airlines IL
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Founded | 1976 | ||||||
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Hubs | |||||||
Fleet size | 2 | ||||||
Destinations | 7 | ||||||
Headquarters | Ben Gurion International Airport, Israel | ||||||
Website | cal-cargo.com |
CAL Cargo Airlines Ltd. (Hebrew: ק.א.ל. קווי אוויר למטען) is a cargo airline with its corporate headquarters in the Airport City development of Ben Gurion International Airport, Israel.[1]
History
CAL was established in June 1976, starting charter operations in November of that year. Originally, the airline leased aircraft from El Al as required; however, on 1 December 1999, it began operating scheduled services using its own aircraft following receipt of Israeli government licences issued in early 1999.
In 1997, CAL purchased LACHS cargo terminal in Belgium (Liège Airport Cargo Handling Services), which is still fully owned and operated by CAL, and caters to CAL's specialty in nonstandard cargo. In 2010, CAL was purchased privately by Offer Gilboa and expanded its flight operations to include daily flights to and from JFK/TLV.
In 2019, the airline made news headlines for buying a Boeing 747 on Chinese e-commerce website Taobao.com for around US $23,3 million.[citation needed]
Operations
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f9/4X-ICL_B747-271C%28SCD%29_Cargo_Air_Lines_LHR_17AUG02_%288253598311%29.jpg/220px-4X-ICL_B747-271C%28SCD%29_Cargo_Air_Lines_LHR_17AUG02_%288253598311%29.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/91/Cargo_Air_Lines_B747-400ERF_%284X-ICA%29_%40_TLV.jpg/220px-Cargo_Air_Lines_B747-400ERF_%284X-ICA%29_%40_TLV.jpg)
The airline operates daily scheduled cargo flights and charter services carrying nonstandard goods and general cargo internationally. Its main base is Ben Gurion Airport, serving Tel Aviv, and it has a hub at Liège Airport (Belgium). The airline carries approximately 100,000 tons of cargo annually including all categories of nonstandard cargo: temperature-controlled pharmaceutical and healthcare products, live animals, dangerous goods, oversize and overweight cargo, fresh perishable products and valuable goods including fine art.[2] The company slogan is Challenge accepted.
Destinations
CAL Cargo Airlines operates freight services to the following scheduled destinations (as of November 2021). Additionally, CAL Cargo Air Lines supplements its own services across the North Atlantic with Challenge Airlines.
Country | City | Airport | Notes | Refs |
---|---|---|---|---|
Belgium | Liège | Liège Airport | Hub | |
China | Zhengzhou | Zhengzhou Xinzheng International Airport | ||
Cyprus | Larnaca | Larnaca International Airport | ||
Hong Kong | Hong Kong | Hong Kong International Airport | ||
Israel | Tel Aviv | Ben Gurion Airport | Hub | |
Norway | Oslo | Oslo Airport, Gardermoen | ||
United States | Atlanta | Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport | ||
United States | Houston | George Bush Intercontinental Airport |
Fleet
Current fleet
The CAL Cargo Air Lines fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of August 2022):[3][4][needs update]
Aircraft | In fleet | Orders | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Boeing 747-400ERF | 1 | 0 | |
Total | 1 | 0 |
Retired fleet
Aircraft | Total | Year introduced | Year retired | Replacement | Notes | Refs |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Boeing 707 | 1 | 1986 | 1987 | Boeing 747-200F | [5] | |
Boeing 747-100F | 1 | 1993 | 1993 | None | Leased from Atlas Air | [6] |
Boeing 747-200F | 4 | 1999 | 2017 | Boeing 747-400F | One aircraft was written off in a landing accident in Liège Airport. | [7][8][9] |
Boeing 747-400BCF | 1 | 2016 | 2019 | None | Transferred to Challenge Airlines. | [citation needed] |
Boeing 747-400ERF | 2 | 2019 | 2022 | None | Transferred to Challenge Airlines. | [citation needed] |
See also
References
- ^ "Contact Information Archived 2014-07-03 at the Wayback Machine." CAL Cargo Air Lines. Retrieved on 1 January 2012. "Contact Information Headquarters C.A.L. Cargo Airlines 1 Hayarden Street, Airport City P.O.B. 271 Ben Gurion Airport 70100, Israel"
- ^ "CAL - Cargo Air lines - Company Profile". Archived from the original on 2009-02-20. Retrieved 2008-03-06.
- ^ "Global Airline Guide 2019 (Part One)". Airliner World. October 2019: 17.
- ^ "Live Flight Tracker - Real-Time Flight Tracker Map".
- ^ "מרקיע שחקים - בואינג 4X-Atx 707". Archived from the original on 2018-12-09. Retrieved 2018-12-07.
- ^ "Stop Spammers".
- ^ https://reports.aviation-safety.net/2003/20031001-0_B742_4X-ICM.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ "מרקיע שחקים - עודכן! בואינג 4X-Icl 747". Archived from the original on 2018-12-07. Retrieved 2018-12-07.
- ^ "מרקיע שחקים - בואינג 4X-Ico 747". Archived from the original on 2018-12-07. Retrieved 2018-12-07.
External links
Media related to Cargo Air Lines at Wikimedia Commons