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Polar Air Cargo
IATA PO	ICAO PAC	Callsign Polar
Founded		1993
Hubs		Incheon International Airport John F. Kennedy International Airport O'Hare International Airport
Focus cities		Amsterdam Schiphol Airport Narita International Airport Los Angeles International Airport Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport
Fleet size		11
Destinations		Worldwide
Parent company		Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings
Headquarters		Purchase, New York
Key people		President Jeff Erickson
Website: http://www.polaraircargo.com

Polar Air Cargo is a cargo airline based in Purchase, New York, USA. It operates scheduled all-cargo services to Asia, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and the Americas. Its main base is John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York, with hubs at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport and Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport ^[1].

Contents 1 History 2 Services 2.1 Scheduled services 2.2 Charter services 3 Fleet 4 Awards 5 External links 6 References

Polar was formed in 1993 as a joint venture between Southern Air Transport and GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS).^{[citation needed]} It started operations in June 1993 and began with charter flights, later adding scheduled services. During 1994 Polar was certified as a supplemental air carrier by the Federal Aviation Administration and on 4 July 1994 as a US all-cargo carrier by the United States Department of Transportation ^[1]. After several years of continued growth, the remainder of the company was acquired by GECAS. In November 2001, Polar was acquired by Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings (AAWW), whose Atlas Air, Inc. (Atlas) subsidiary is a leading provider of ACMI (Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance and Insurance) freighter leasing. Polar became the scheduled service provider for AAWW, while Atlas continued to supply Boeing 747 freighters on a wet-lease basis to major airlines.^{[citation needed]} Polar is a wholly owned subsidiary of Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, Inc. based in Purchase, New York ^[2]

^{[citation needed]}

Polar provides scheduled freight service covering the transpacific, transatlantic, transasia, South Pacific, Middle East and South American markets. Polar offers frequent flights to China, connecting Shanghai to New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, South America and multiple points in Asia and Europe.

^{[citation needed]}

Polar also offers its customers charter freight services, using its dedicated fleet of Boeing 747 aircraft. This includes both special handling and time-limited shipments. For example, Polar has shipped horses, cattle, race cars and helicopters across the Atlantic; critically needed supplies to Tsunami victims; and the rock band Green Day’s musical equipment from one tightly scheduled performance in Glasgow to another at the 47th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. Polar and its sister company, Atlas, also does extensive work for the U.S. Air Force’s Air Mobility Command (AMC).

As of August 2006 the Polar Air Cargo fleet includes ^[3] :

• 1 Boeing 747-100F
• 3 Boeing 747-200F
• 1 Boeing 747-300F
• 6 Boeing 747-400F

Polar is currently parking their 747-100 and 747-200 fleet and laying off all the crews for those airplanes. Currently there are plans to purchase new 747-400 and 747-8 aircraft to replace the classic fleet by 2007 or 2008.^{[citation needed]}

2005 Winner of the prestigious Air Cargo Excellence (ACE) Award in the Air Cargo Charter category. The ACE Awards are presented based on a survey of 20,000 members of the airline and freight forwarding industries in which the members rate air carrier service providers in the areas of Performance, Customer Service, Value, Information Technology and Overall Quality.^{[citation needed]}

• Polar Air Cargo

1. ^ ^{a b} Flight International 12-18 April 2005
2. ^ Yahoo Finance
3. ^ Flight International, 3-9 October 2006