Southern Air to lease 2 B747s from Aircastle

   Southern Air entered an agreement Thursday to lease two Boeing 747-400 freighters from Aircastle Ltd.
   The planes are expected to enter commercial service during the first quarter of 2012, as part of Southern Air’s renewal and business expansion program. “We look forward to further developing our relationship with Aircastle as we continue to renew and expand our global wide-body fleet,” said Daniel McHugh, Southern Air’s chief executive officer, in a statement.
   Aircastle acquires, leases and sells commercial planes to airlines throughout the world. As of June 30, the company’s aircraft portfolio consisted of 136 aircraft with 59 lessees located in 32 countries.
   Southern Air’s all-cargo fleet currently consists of 10 747-200s and the company will add four 747-400s by first quarter 2012.