Kalitta Air

Kalitta Air, LLC is a United States all-cargo airline based at Willow Run Airport (YIP) west of Detroit. The company is a Michigan limited liability company and, by its own account, is owned one hundred per cent by Conrad "Connie" Kalitta. Operations began in November 2000, after Kalitta acquired the air carrier certificate of the discontinued predecessor Kitty Hawk International and obtained DOT and FAA authority. Kalitta Air flies exclusively with its own widebody freighters and markets three operating models: long-term charter, ACMI programmes and ad hoc charter. Its customers are multinational freight forwarders and agents, complemented by substantial business with the US Air Mobility Command and other US government agencies. The fleet consists of three types: Boeing 747-400F, Boeing 777-200F and Boeing 777-300ERSF. Kalitta Air is the launch operator of the 777-300ERSF, the converted "Big Twin" from the AerCap Cargo and Israel Aerospace Industries programme; the first two aircraft were handed over at Oscoda in September 2025. The carrier does not publish consistent unit numbers, so fleet counts are not recorded here. Home and operating base is Willow Run; at Oscoda (OSC) Kalitta runs its own heavy maintenance facility including engine overhaul, which makes the carrier independent of third-party providers. Scheduled cargo services include departures from Hong Kong. Sales are handled through general sales agents: Wallace Air Cargo Group in the United States, Inter Aviation Services in Europe, Taidak Air Logistics in China, Bluebird Air Cargo in Hong Kong and Pacific Air Cargo for Honolulu and the Pacific Islands. For forwarders: IATA designator K4, ICAO designator CKS, callsign CONNIE, air waybill prefix 272. Kalitta Air is a registered IOSA operator. Traffic carried includes general cargo, e-commerce, outsize freight, temperature-controlled and perishable goods, dangerous goods, live animals and valuables.