Australian logistics solutions company Team Global Express has initiated a partnership with Texel Air Australasia to boost airfreight capacity across Australia using four Boeing 737-800 Converted Freighters (BCF). This seven-year agreement, valued at A$480 million, will see the Auckland-headquartered airline operating the freighters on an ACMI (Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance, and Insurance) basis.
The new 737-800 BCF aircraft, branded with Team Global Express livery, will replace the existing 737-300 and 737-400 aircraft, enhancing the company’s delivery capabilities. These modern freighters will enable more efficient parcel deliveries along regional routes, including additional morning pick-ups at destinations like Port Hedland, Norfolk Island, and Karratha. The updated fleet aims to facilitate more overnight deliveries for regional customers through a more frequent and streamlined schedule.
Christine Holgate, Group Chief Executive of Team Global Express, highlighted the critical role of airfreight in Australia: “In a country as vast as Australia, airfreight plays a vital role in connecting distant cities and transporting essential goods such as lifesaving medications, perishable goods, machinery equipment, and livestock. The new planes contribute towards a 20% improvement in cargo capacity, which creates a greater carbon saving per parcel. This partnership supports our new e-commerce product, offering customers unrivaled speed across a single network.”
In a LinkedIn post on June 21, Team Global Express announced, “Our ability to deliver airfreight – especially to regional Australia – just got faster. We have introduced four Boeing 737-800 BCF freighter aircraft to our domestic air freight fleet, increasing our capacity and speed of delivery. These freighters replace four aircraft in the company’s total fleet of forty planes and are the first to proudly display Team Global Express branded livery.”
Texel Air Australasia echoed this sentiment in their LinkedIn post, celebrating the launch of the new B737-800BCF freighter service at an official event in Brisbane. They expressed pride in delivering this critical new capability to Team Global Express, emphasizing the increased speed and efficiency the new aircraft bring to Australia’s connectivity.
Texel Air Australasia, a subsidiary of Bahrain-based Texel Air, provides ACMI and charter services. Established in 2013 by Chisholm Enterprises, Texel Air is also an aircraft maintenance repair organization (MRO). The airline currently operates five 737-800BCFs, with one aircraft servicing Parceline Express, a subsidiary of Freightways and New Zealand Post.
Owned by Australian equity fund Allegro Funds, Team Global Express operates a multimodal network utilizing trucks, ships, aircraft, and rail across Australia and New Zealand. The company manages over 500 flights per week with a fleet of 40 aircraft, handling a wide range of cargo.