Western Global Airlines Explained

Western Global Airlines, LLC is an American cargo airline based in Estero, Florida. The company's services include aircraft leasing, commercial charters and military charters. Its main hub is located at Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers, Florida. In July 2018, the company established a 160000square feet aircraft maintenance facility in Shreveport, Louisiana, capable of housing three wide-body aircraft simultaneously.

The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on August 7, 2023, and exited in December 2023.

History

Western Global Airlines was founded on March 6, 2013, by Jim Neff.^[2] It was certified by the United States Department of Transportation on February 24, 2014, with FAA approval being granted on August 1, 2014, for operations using the McDonnell Douglas MD-11F. Boeing 747-400 freighter operations were approved by the FAA on November 16, 2015, and Department of Transportation approval was granted on May 25, 2016.

In June 2019, Flexport filed a complaint against Western Global Airlines, claiming that the airline failed to meet the reliability rate mandated by their contract. On June 7, 2019, Western Global Airlines ceased operations for Flexport, which then switched to Atlas Air.^[3] On August 7, 2023, Western Global filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.^[4] On December 5, 2023, Western Global announced that they exited Chapter 11 bankruptcy with less than US$100 Million in debt.^[5]

Fleet

As of May 2020, Western Global Airlines operates a fleet of 21 747-400F and MD-11F:

Aircraft	In service	Orders	Notes
Boeing 747-400F	1	-
Boeing 747-400BDSF	1	-
Boeing 747-400BCF	2	-
Boeing 777F	-	2[6]
McDonnell Douglas MD-11F	17	-
Total	21	2

Incidents

• On February 13, 2016, Western Global Airlines Flight 4425, a McDonnell Douglas MD-11F (registered as N545JN) took off from Munich, Germany on a flight to King Shaka International Airport, South Africa carrying banknotes intended for the South African Reserve Bank. While making a fuel stop in Harare, Zimbabwe, the aircraft was impounded and its crew were arrested after ground staff reported seeing blood dripping from the aircraft. A subsequent search found a corpse in the lower compartment.^{[7] [8] [9]} Zimbabwean Police reported the man was likely a stowaway who died from a lack of oxygen. The crew and the aircraft were later released.^{[8] [10] [11]}

See also

• List of airlines of the United States

Notes and References

1. Web site: Federal Aviation Administration - Airline Certificate Information - Detail View. av-info.faa.gov. 2019-06-27.
2. Web site: Western Global takes off Cargo Facts. 2020-06-26. cargofacts.com. 25 November 2014 .
3. Web site: Flexport files complaint against Western Global, switches to Atlas Air for 747F ops Air Cargo World. 2020-06-26. aircargoworld.com. 25 July 2019 .
4. Web site: Cargo airline Western Global goes bankrupt amid cash crunch. August 7, 2023. August 7, 2023. Bloomberg. en.
5. Web site: US's Western Global Airlines exits Chapter 11 . 2024-02-14 . ch-aviation . en.
6. Web site: Western Global Airlines Purchases Two Boeing 777 Freighters. Boeing Media Room.
7. News: Blood dripping from plane leads to body. 31 July 2018 . IOL News . 15 February 2016 . en.
8. News: Hradecky . Simon . News: A Western Global MD11 in Harare on Feb 14th 2016 and the results of the fuel stop . 31 July 2018 . The Aviation Herald . 16 February 2016.
9. News: Western Global Airlines Issues Update on Aircraft Situation . 31 July 2018 . Business Wire . 16 February 2016 . en.
10. News: Gladstone. Rick. 2016-02-15. U.S.-Owned Plane Carrying Corpse and Cash Is Impounded in Zimbabwe. en-US. The New York Times. 2021-08-23. 0362-4331.
11. Web site: February 15, 2016. Cash and a body found in U.S. cargo jet in Zimbabwe. 2021-08-23. CBS News/Associated Press. en-US.