Southern Air Inc. was a global air cargo carrier headquartered in
Florence, Kentucky. It was the first airline to provide
ACMI (Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance, Insurance) service for the wide-body Boeing 777F. On November 17, 2021, Southern Air ceased operations as it was merged into Atlas Air.
The airline operated an all-Boeing fleet of aircraft: Boeing 777F, and the
Boeing 737-800BCF. Its wide range of services included: long-term
ACMI, on-demand commercial charters, as well as Department of Defense
Civil Reserve Air Fleet
The Civil Reserve Air Fleet is part of the United States's mobility resources. Selected aircraft from U.S. airlines, contractually committed to Civil Reserve Air Fleet, support United States Department of Defense airlift requirements in emergenci ...
. Southern Air’s operations also supported some of the world’s largest combination carriers as well as government agencies and non-government organizations.
History
The airline was established on March 5, 1999, by James Neff, out of the assets of
Southern Air Transport and started operations in November 1999.
On September 7, 2007,
Oak Hill Capital Partners
Oak Hill Capital Partners is a private equity firm headquartered in New York City, with more than $19 billion of committed capital from entrepreneurs, endowments, foundations, corporations, pension funds and global financial institutions. Rob ...
acquired majority ownership of Southern Air and merged
Cargo 360 into the airline.
In early 2010, Southern Air took delivery of two
Boeing 777
The Boeing 777, commonly referred to as the Triple Seven, is an American long-range wide-body airliner developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It is the world's largest twinjet.
The 777 was designed to bridge the gap betw ...
freighters. At the same time, Southern Air introduced new aircraft livery as well as new corporate branding.
In early 2011, Southern Air entered into a multiple year contract with
DHL Aviation; by utilizing the
Boeing 777
The Boeing 777, commonly referred to as the Triple Seven, is an American long-range wide-body airliner developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It is the world's largest twinjet.
The 777 was designed to bridge the gap betw ...
, Southern Air was able to augment DHL's overnight express package delivery service through hubs in
Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
,
Bahrain
Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...
,
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...
and
Anchorage, increasing package delivery options provided by DHL to its customers.
The same year Southern Air gradually retired the fleet of Boeing 747-200, 747-300 and
747-400BDSF models.
On 28 September 2012, Southern Air filed for
Chapter 11
Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, wheth ...
bankruptcy protection and emerged from bankruptcy in early 2013.
In 2014, Southern Air took delivery of five 737-400SF passenger-to-cargo converted aircraft.
On April 7, 2016, Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings purchased Southern Air for $110 million in an all-cash deal. The transaction included Worldwide Air Logistics Group, Inc. and its two operating subsidiaries, Southern Air, Inc. and Florida West International Airways, Inc.
On November 17, 2021, Southern Air became fully integrated into Atlas Air through an airline merger, ending a long history of airline operations.
Fleet
Southern Air operated the following aircraft:
File:Southern Air Boeing 747-200 KvW.jpg, Southern Air Boeing 747-200
File:Southern Air Boeing 777F N774SA.jpg, Southern Air Boeing 777 Freighter operated for DHL
Boeing 737-800 BCF, Paris Air Show 2019, Le Bourget (SIAE1177).jpg, Southern Air Boeing 737-800BCF operated for Amazon Air
Amazon Air, operating under the callsign Prime Air, is a cargo airline operating exclusively to transport Amazon packages. In 2017, it changed its name from Amazon Prime Air to Amazon Air to differentiate themselves from their autonomous drone ...
File:Boeing 777-FZB, Thai Cargo (Southern Air) AN1961620.jpg, Southern Air Boeing 777 Freighter operated for Thai Cargo
References
External links
Official website (archived February 23, 2017)
{{Airlines of the United States
Defunct airlines of the United States
Airlines established in 1947
Airlines disestablished in 2021
Defunct cargo airlines
1947 establishments in the United States
2021 disestablishments in Kentucky
Airlines based in Kentucky
Companies based in Kentucky
Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2012
Boone County, Kentucky