Atlas pushes ‘asset-light’ ops

ATLAS Air Worldwide Holdings is growing its crew, maintenance and insurance (CMI) operations, saying such ‘asset-light’ contracts will increasingly become more common.

“By growing our CMI operations, we continue to diversify our business mix,” says William Flynn, chief executive officer of Atlas.

Atlas has just signed a CMI contract with DHL Express to fly five 767-200 freighters for the integrator. The first of these will go operational, out of the Cincinnati (US) hub, this April and the rest by the third quarter 2012.

Atlas says it expects the 767 freighter to be an increasingly popular choice for domestic US flights, but also within North America and potentially transatlantic.