Nordic Aviation Capital (NAC) Signs a deal with Astral Aviation for 2 E190F

The world’s largest regional aircraft lessor, Nordic Air Capital agreed to a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for two passengers to freight converted Embraer 190s with Astral Aviation. The Nairobi-based freight airline is set to be the first operator of the E190F.

This comes as Embraer and NAC had reached an agreement in principle to take up to 10 conversion slots for the E190/E195F in May 2022, with the first set of deliveries slated for 2024. The aircraft to be converted will come from NAC’s existing E190/E195 fleet.

Sanjeev Gadhia, Founder & CEO of Astral Aviation, said, “We are honored to be the launch operator of the Embraer 190F, which will be based in Astral’s Nairobi hub. It will operate on a combination of scheduled and charter flights on our intra-African network. The E-Jets are well known for their efficiency, flexibility, and sustainability. We are confident that the E-Jet freighter platform will be a game-changing addition to our growing fleet. We are grateful to NAC and Embraer for choosing Astral to be the launch operator of the E-Jet Freighter.”

Norman C.T. Liu, President & CEO of NAC, said “As a launch lessor for the E-Jet freighter conversion program, we are pleased to have executed an MoU to place two E190F aircraft with Astral Aviation, a leading cargo carrier servicing Africa. NAC aims to remain the leader in regional aviation and expand into larger narrow-body aircraft while building our full life cycle asset management capabilities.”

Johann Bordais, President & CEO, Embraer Services & Support, said, “The response to Embraer’s P2F program, which was launched only in March of this year, has been incredible. NAC has already placed their first two aircraft, and it’s great to welcome yet another operator to our E-Jet family.”