NEW AIRLINE - Awesome Cargo To Launch Operations From Felipe Angeles International

 The airline has received its first aircraft, an Airbus A330 formerly operated by Alitalia.

Mexico is set to have a new cargo carrier, Awesome Cargo. This airline startup was introduced this week; it will operate out of the Felipe Ángeles International Airport (NLU) with an Airbus A330-200PTF aircraft.

A new airline operator

The Felipe Ángeles International Airport now has a new carrier, Awesome Cargo. This airline received its first aircraft, an Airbus A330-200PTF, leased from Air Lease Corporation this week.

Last year, Mexico’s civil aviation agency granted the concession to provide air cargo transportation services to Awesome Cargo. In a statement, the Mexican government said that this new carrier was born with great expectations of growth and expansion both in the domestic and international markets. The airline expects to grow, particularly in the Latin American and Asia-Pacific regions.

This company is the first Mexican carrier to launch flights directly to the country’s newest airport, the Felipe Ángeles. On its website, Awesome Cargo says it will provide Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance, and Insurance (ACMI) services, as well as charter and general cargo operations, transporting cargo, pharma, live animals, and perishables.

Operating in the Felipe Ángeles

This year, cargo airlines operating to Mexico City International Airport reached an agreement with the government to move cargo operations to the new Felipe Ángeles International. The existing airlines will take up to four months to move to the new hub; meanwhile, Awesome Cargo will launch operations there.

The Mexican efforts to move all cargo operations to NLU were the latest attempt to increase the number of weekly services from the Felipe Ángeles, the pet project of the current government.

Awesome Cargo’s first plane


The plane Awesome Cargo received has a registration number EI-EJI (this will change eventually to have a Mexican registration). It is an Airbus A330-202 that had its first flight on March 29th, 2011. Before operating with Awesome Cargo, the widebody jet only had one previous customer. It was flown by Alitalia between 2011 and 2021, according to data from ch-aviation.


The aircraft is currently stored in the Felipe Ángeles Airport. It flew from Naples to Mexico City, with a stopover in Halifax (YHZ) between February 6th and 7th. It already has the livery of Awesome Cargo, as can be seen in the photos uploaded by Airbus President in Latin America and the Caribbean, Arturo Barreira.

NEW AIRLINE - Awesome Cargo: start-up from Mexico

Awesome Cargo was presented to the world during a presentation. Most notable during this event was the presence of the airline's first aircraft, Airbus A330-200 EI-EJI (1218). The former Alitalia Airbus was delivered (with a stop at Halifax) to Mexico City from Naples on 7 February 2023.

The airline is planning to launch flights from Mexico City-Felipe Ángeles and will be the first cargo airline to call this airport its home. This is in line with the government's plan to move all cargo flights from Mexico City to this former air base.

Awesome Cargo is planning to offer ACMI (Aircraft, Crew, Maintance and Insurance)-flights, as well as it's own marketed cargo flights to destinations within Latin America as well as Asia-Pacific. The Airbus is outfitted as a "phreighter", which means it will carry cargo in the main passenger cabin. It's unclear if the airline has plans to have the aircraft properly converted later on.
Later this year, the company is planning to add a second Airbus A330-200 phreighter to the fleet.
Photo via Twitter.
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