Kalitta Charters II becomes a new Boeing 757-200F operator

On September 9, 2026, Michigan-based on-demand cargo operator Kalitta Charters II officially expanded its fleet capabilities by taking delivery of its first Boeing 757-200 freighter. The aircraft, registered as N757CK, completed an hour and forty-five minute delivery positioning flight from Dothan Regional Airport in Alabama directly to the carrier’s primary operating base and headquarters at Willow Run Airport in Ypsilanti, Michigan. The arrival marks a key milestone for the Part 121 cargo airline, which had previously relied entirely on narrowbody Boeing 737 freighters after retiring the last of its legacy Boeing 727-200 freighters in April 2024.

The newly delivered freighter carries a long and varied operational history spanning over four decades. Carrying manufacturer serial number 22611, the airframe originally rolled off Boeing’s Renton assembly line and was delivered new to Eastern Air Lines as a passenger airliner registered as N522EA in December 1985. Over the following two decades, it transported passengers in Europe and across the Atlantic, flying under registration G-OOOW with Air 2000, TF-ARE with Air Atlanta Icelandic, and G-VKNC with Excel Airways before undergoing passenger-to-cargo conversion in 2007. As a dedicated freighter, the jet served networks for Varig Log, DHL, and Pacific Air Express before joining humanitarian relief organization Samaritan’s Purse in 2021. Operating under registration N783SP from September 2023 until November 2025, the airframe was placed into storage after the organization modernized its fleet with a Boeing 767-300 freighter, N367SP, and retired its classic Douglas DC-8-72, N782SP.

In May 2026, the twin-jet was ferried from Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro, North Carolina, to Dothan, Alabama, where it underwent extensive maintenance, conformity inspections, and full exterior repainting into Kalitta Charters II livery. The addition of N757CK provides Kalitta Charters II with substantial payload and range growth over its current active fleet of 21 Boeing 737s, which comprises five 737-300s, twelve 737-400s, and four 737-800s dedicated to ad-hoc cargo charters and long-term DHL network support. The 757 platform is slated to bolster the carrier’s competitive standing on high-demand DHL contract routes and expanding Caribbean freight corridors. Furthermore, with common type rating capabilities shared between the Boeing 757 and Boeing 767, the addition positions Kalitta Charters II for potential fleet integration of larger widebody 767 freighters in the future while maximizing crew efficiency and standardizing operational costs.