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Polar Air Cargo, Inc. (Polar) is a leader in international logistics, providing scheduled airfreight and charter services between the Americas, Asia, Europe and the Far East. Utilizing a large fleet of all-cargo Boeing 747-200 and Boeing 747-400 freighter aircraft, Polar provides global customers with time-definite, cost-effective, airport-to-airport scheduled freight service. Polar is a wholly owned subsidiary of Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, Inc. ( AAWW.PK), based in Purchase, New York.
Worldwide Scheduled Service
Polar provides scheduled freight service covering most of the world’s major trade lanes. These include transpacific, transatlantic, transasia, South Pacific, Middle East and South American markets. The Company maintains a vast network of facilities and representatives around the globe to provide the highest level of freight service management. The massive network of scheduled flights allows freight forwarders to connect to major markets with great regularity and reliability. For example, Polar offers frequent flights to China, connecting Shanghai to New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, South America and multiple points in Asia and Europe.
Charter Service
Polar also offers its customers charter freight services, using its dedicated fleet of B747 aircraft. Each service is tailored to meet the needs of the customer, with Polar being able to handle unique types of cargo or special client requirements thanks to its worldwide network of facilities and professionals. 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 do extensive work for the U.S. Air Force’s Air Mobility Command (AMC).
History
Polar was formed in 1993 as a joint venture between Southern Air Transport and GE Capital Aviation Services to fill a strong market need for additional scheduled cargo service in the global airfreight industry. After several years of continued growth, the Company was bought by GE Capital Aviation Services, which implemented a quality program that raised service standards to ensure that Polar was a strong strategic alliance partner for the major airlines around the world. Two of these initiatives, which focused on schedule integrity and fleet reliability, led to major gains in performance levels. In November of 2001, Polar was acquired by AAWW, whose Atlas Air, Inc. (Atlas) subsidiary is the world’s leading provider of ACMI (Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance and Insurance) freighter leasing. Polar became the scheduled service provider for AAWW, with freight forwarders and agents as its customer base, while Atlas continued to supply B747 freighters on a wet-lease basis to major airlines. And, because it was now under the AAWW umbrella, Polar gained access to additional freighter capacity when market conditions demanded it.
Today, Polar is one of the key all-cargo carriers in the world, and the Polar “Circle P” logo is now a common sight at major international airports on every continent.
Fleet
To provide these services, Polar maintains a large fleet of B747 freighter aircraft, the most efficient and cost-effective aerial platform for transporting intercontinental shipments of heavy freight. The result is that Polar has the capacity to handle shipments of widely varying sizes and volumes, and to deliver goods to hundreds of markets around the globe with consistently high quality. Polar is currently parking their 747-100 and 747-200 fleet and laying off all the crews for those airplanes which is over half their fleet. Currently there are plans to purchase new 747-400 and 747-8 aircraft to replace the classic fleet by 2007 or 2008.
Awards
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.
Models
Polar is also very active in the model airplane world, their models being produced and sold by many important plane model companies, such as Wooster and Schabak.
About Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, Inc.
Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, Inc. ( AAWW.PK) is the parent company of Atlas Air, Inc. and Polar Air Cargo, Inc., which together operate the world's largest fleet of B747 freighter aircraft. There are many synergies between Polar and Atlas, the world's leading provider of ACMI freighter aircraft to major airlines around the globe. Together they provide the airfreight market with options and flexibilities for shipping cargo around the world. Through both of its principal subsidiaries, AAWW also provides commercial and military charter services.
"Polar Air Cargo"