PURCHASE, N.Y. --- Atlas Air, Inc. announced that it has accepted delivery of the second of three B747-400F aircraft that will be added to its fleet in 2002. Financing for the aircraft is being provided by GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS), a GE Capital company.
As announced earlier, Atlas Air had previously taken delivery of the first of the three B747-400s due in 2002. The third B747-400F to be added to Atlas Air's fleet is scheduled for delivery in November, and, like the previous delivery, will be financed by Boeing.
Under the financing agreements described above, the return of certain pre-delivery deposits and the deferral until next year of pre-delivery deposits required for a scheduled 747-400F delivery in late 2003 will add $27.6 million to the Company's liquidity in the second half of this year. As a result, the Company expects that its year-end cash and short-term investment balance will exceed the $275 million balance prevailing on June 30, which was itself up from a balance of $266 million at the end of the first quarter. In addition, the next payment under the GECAS financing will not be due until April 2003.
While its cash balances have exceeded its forecasts, the Company continues to expect a net loss for the second quarter, which it believes will significantly exceed the high-end of current loss estimates largely as a result of certain non-cash charges to be taken in the quarter.
In addition, Atlas Air confirmed that it has entered into a 747-200 ACMI agreement with China Cargo Airlines, the cargo division of China Eastern Airlines, for the three-month period from August through November. China Eastern is China's second-largest airline.
Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, Inc. ("the Company") is the parent company of Atlas Air, Inc. ("Atlas Air"), and of Polar Air Cargo, Inc. ("Polar.") Atlas Air offers its customers a complete line of freighter services, specializing in ACMI (Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance, and Insurance) contracts, utilizing its fleet of B747 aircraft. Polar's fleet of Boeing 747 freighter aircraft specialize in time-definite, cost-effective, airport-to-airport scheduled airfreight service. Polar and Atlas Air are operated as separate subsidiaries of the Company.
