News / Older CRJ freighters prove resilient, but only with niche operators

Proflight CRJ 100PF arriving on its ferry flight to Lusaka. Photo: Proflight Zambia

Proflight Zambia is the latest airline to introduce a converted CRJ100/200, but analysts reckon these aircraft will remain a niche product, flown by only a handful of operators.

Proflight took delivery of its first aircraft last month on lease from Avmax in Canada and plans to deploy the CRJ on all-cargo services between Lusaka and Johannesburg from next month, and possibly to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) later.

“We also see opportunities for ad hoc charters on regional routes,” the airline told The Loadstar.

The Zambia-South Africa market is already competitive, with most of the larger airlines offering belly space and some dedicated charter flights. The two countries have diverse trade and business activities that have traditionally supported a lucrative air freight corridor for agricultural produce, pharmaceuticals, textiles, electronics and support for the mining industries.

Proflight sees most of its cargo business coming from the mining and agriculture sectors and has no other scheduled cargo services planned.

Jon Whaley, senior aviation analyst at IBA, discussed the potential suitability of the CRJ-200P2F for cargo start-up operations in high-cost operating environments like Africa. He acknowledged its higher operating cost, compared with an ATR72-200F/500, and said its effectiveness relied on route deployment

He explained: “If the aircraft is deployed on routes such as Lusaka Nairobi, long north-south, then the aircraft will resemble its successful operation in Mexico where it works well with its high speed. If, however, the aircraft is operated on short sectors, such as Lusaka-Harare or -Lilongwe, its operating economics will not match the ATR.”

Mr Whaley said: “The type is well suited to Mexico’s lengthy, but low-volume, freight routes, but aside from that demand remains limited, with only a small number being converted by AEI annually at its Dothan facility.”

The CRJ-200P2F is cheaper, when compared with newer regional freighters, the only two being the in-development Embraer E190/E195P2F. According to IBA, values for passenger-configured CRJ-200s show significant softness given the limited demand and high storage rates for the type. Values and lease rates have remained steady for many years, though they are most certainly not buoyant.

In terms of values, data points are somewhat scarce, but IBA would estimate a range of between $2.5m and $4m for a CRJ200-P2F, depending on provenance and condition. An equivalent ATR72-500F would likely be $5m to $7m. In terms of lease rates, data is scarce but IBA’s gauge is that the CRJ-200P2F would lease for between $40k and $50k a month.

IBA data indicates enough feedstock available given the limited demand for the CRJ-200, with a plentiful supply of stored assets located in the US.

Mr Whaley thinks conversions will continue, depending on how long Mexican operators Aeronaves TSM and TUM AeroCarga wish to keep converting assets, given that they have been the most loyal customers over the years. He observed some aircraft in the market earmarked for conversion and mostly heading for Aeronaves but also include Gulf & Caribbean Cargo and AeroCarga.

“Looking to the future, IBA perceives the aircraft as niche with limited application,” he added.