Challenge Airlines IL

Challenge Airlines IL, formerly CAL Cargo Airlines Ltd. (Hebrew: ק.א.ל. קווי אוויר למטען), is a cargo airline with its corporate headquarters in Shoham, Israel.

Challenge Airlines IL
צ'אלנג איירליינס ישראל
IATA ICAO Callsign
5C ICL CAL
Founded1976
Hubs
Fleet size1
Destinations4
HeadquartersBen Gurion International Airport, Israel
Websitecal-cargo.com

History

CAL was established in June 1976, starting charter operations in November of that year. Originally, the airline leased aircraft from El Al as required; however, on 1 December 1999, it began operating scheduled services using its own aircraft following receipt of Israeli government licences.

In 1997, CAL purchased the Liège Airport Cargo Handling Services (LACHS) cargo terminal in Belgium. The facility, which is still fully owned and operated by CAL, caters to CAL's specialty in nonstandard cargo. In 2010, CAL was purchased privately by Offer Gilboa and expanded its flight operations to include daily flights to and from Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport and New York's John F Kennedy International Airport.

In 2017, the airline made news headlines for buying a Boeing 747 on Chinese e-commerce website Taobao.com for around US $23.3 million.

Operations
Cargo Airlines in London Heathrow
CAL 747-400ERF 4X-ICA (ex-Jade Cargo International, in Jade Cargo basic livery) on short final to Ben Gurion Airport. This aircraft has since been repainted.

Challenge IL operates daily scheduled cargo flights and charter services carrying nonstandard goods and general cargo internationally. Its main base is Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport and it has a hub at Liège Airport in Belgium. The airline carries approximately 100,000 tons of cargo annually, including all categories of nonstandard cargo: temperature-controlled pharmaceutical and healthcare products, live animals, dangerous goods, oversize and overweight cargo, fresh perishable products, and valuable goods such as fine art.[1] The company slogan is Challenge accepted.

Destinations

Challenge IL operates freight services to the following scheduled destinations (as of April 2023).

Country City Airport Notes Refs
BelgiumLiègeLiège AirportHub
CyprusLarnacaLarnaca International Airport
ChinaZhengzhouZhengzhou International Airport
IsraelTel AvivBen Gurion AirportHub
NorwayOsloOslo Airport, Gardermoen

Fleet

Current fleet

The CAL Cargo Air Lines fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of August 2022):[2][3]

CAL Cargo Air Lines fleet
Aircraft In fleet Orders Notes
Boeing 747-400ERF 1 0
Total 1 0

Retired fleet
CAL Airlines historic fleet
Aircraft Total Year introduced Year retired Replacement Notes Refs
Boeing 707 1 1986 1987 Boeing 747-200F [4]
Boeing 747-100F 1 1993 1993 None Leased from Atlas Air [5]
Boeing 747-200F 4 1999 2017 Boeing 747-400F One aircraft was written off in a landing accident in Liège Airport. [6][7][8]
Boeing 747-400BCF 1 2016 2019 None Transferred to Challenge Airlines BE.
Boeing 747-400ERF 2 2019 2022 None Transferred to Challenge Airlines BE.

See also

References
  1. "CAL - Cargo Air lines - Company Profile". Archived from the original on 2009-02-20. Retrieved 2008-03-06.
  2. "Global Airline Guide 2019 (Part One)". Airliner World. October 2019: 17.
  3. "Live Flight Tracker - Real-Time Flight Tracker Map".
  4. "מרקיע שחקים - בואינג 4X-Atx 707". Archived from the original on 2018-12-09. Retrieved 2018-12-07.
  5. "Stop Spammers".
  6. https://reports.aviation-safety.net/2003/20031001-0_B742_4X-ICM.pdf
  7. "מרקיע שחקים - עודכן! בואינג 4X-Icl 747". Archived from the original on 2018-12-07. Retrieved 2018-12-07.
  8. "מרקיע שחקים - בואינג 4X-Ico 747". Archived from the original on 2018-12-07. Retrieved 2018-12-07.

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