Air Transport Services Group today announced that its Cargo Aircraft Management subsidiary has agreed to purchase two Boeing 767-300ER aircraft from Air Canada of Montreal, convert them from passenger to freighter configuration, and lease them back to Air Canada. This is the first sale-leaseback agreement between ATSG and Air Canada.

The first aircraft will be inducted for conversion in March 2021. Both are expected to be redelivered to Air Canada by the end of 2021.

“Getting these two 767 freighters into our operation in 2021 is aligned with our announcement in November,” commented Jason Berry, vice-president of cargo at Air Canada. “We are excited to be in a position to capture the market opportunities that currently present themselves. Delivering on our commitments is critically important to all of us at Air Canada.”