Originally Posted by sky jet

Sorta, except that this is not a YS-11. DC-9 or even a DC-8. This (-200's) are at a minimum, 209 foot long widebodies. It will take hours to load and unload. Even with cheap lease/buy rates those jets need to be in the air a minimum of 12-14 hours a day just to pay for the parts they use in regular service. Add in the inevitable AOG problem and it gets ugly fast.

I believe that this is a play by the managment of Eastern 4 point whatever to raise funds for their operation. Freight is sexy to airline investors right now due to the price per kilo/pound surge we have seen because of COVID. I'd love to know where they are going to find financing for 35 airframes. While some of the older aircraft may be considered obsolete there are millions of dollars of parts let alone the scrap value in them. Cheap acquisition here is a very relative term.