# Astar Air Cargo

ASTAR Air Cargo Inc. was an American cargo airline based in Miami, Florida. Its main base was Cincinnati Northern Kentucky International Airport in Hebron, Kentucky, with hubs at Miami International Airport and Los Angeles International Airport. It was owned by John Dasburg, Richard Blum and Michael Klein.

## History

The airline was established and started operations in 1969. It was formed as DHL Worldwide Express by Adrian Dalsey, Larry Hillblom and Robert Lynn. The airline was spun off from DHL and a majority stake sold to a private investor in order to comply with federal foreign ownership laws. FedEx and UPS challenged the U.S. citizenship of DHL Airways, asserting to the Department of Transportation that DPWN exercised effective operational control of the airline. The airline rebranded as DHL Airways on December 22, 1981, and grew rapidly, initiating services to Asia and Australia.
In July 2003, John Dasburg completed a management buy-out of the airline and rebranded to ASTAR Air Cargo on June 30, 2003, with its two target customers remaining to be DHL and the United States Air Force. In 2007, DHL bought 49.5% of nonvoting and 24.5% of voting stock and added a member to the board of ASTAR Air Cargo.
On May 28, 2008, DHL announced the plan to terminate its business relationship with ASTAR by outsourcing the air transportation to its competitor UPS. In May 2009 DHL terminated their plan to outsource to UPS and ASTAR continued operating out of DHL's CVG facility.
The company decided to shut down its cargo operations when its contract with DHL was terminated abruptly effective on June 1, 2012. All remaining active aircraft were put in storage.

## Destinations

ASTAR Air Cargo operated the following freight destinations until operations were ended as of June 1, 2012:
* Canada
** Hamilton, Ontario (John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport)
* Mexico
** Mexico City (Mexico City International Airport)
* United States
** Atlanta, Georgia (Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport)
** Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport)
** Cincinnati, Ohio (Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport) Hub
** Denver, Colorado (Denver International Airport)
** Greensboro, North Carolina (Piedmont Triad International Airport)
** Houston, Texas (George Bush Intercontinental Airport)
** Harlingen, Texas (Valley International Airport)
** Memphis, Tennessee (Memphis International Airport)
** Miami, Florida (Miami International Airport)
** Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota (Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport)
** Nashville, Tennessee (Nashville International Airport)
** Newark, New Jersey (Newark Liberty International Airport)
** Orlando, Florida (Orlando International Airport)
** Saint Louis, Missouri (Lambert St. Louis International Airport)
** Salt Lake City, Utah (Salt Lake City International Airport)
** Toledo, Ohio (Toledo Express Airport)

## Fleet

The ASTAR Air Cargo fleet consisted of the following aircraft:
ASTAR Air Cargo fleet :
| Aircraft | Total | Introduced | Retired | Notes |
| Airbus A300B4-100F | 1 | 1999 | 1999 | Use for spare parts only |
| Airbus A300B4-200F | 7 | 1999 | 2009 | |
| Bell 206 B-2 | 1 | Un­known | Un­known | |
| Bell 206 L-1 | 1 | Un­known | Un­known | |
| Boeing 727-100F | 11 | 1984 | 2004 | |
| Boeing 727-200F | 14 | 1990 | 2009 | |
| Convair CV-580 | 1 | 1989 | 1990 | Leased from European Air Transport |
| Douglas DC-8-73CF | 5 | 1995 | 2012 | |
| Douglas DC-8-73F | 5 | 1993 | 2012 | |
| Learjet 35A | 1 | 1983 | 1999 | |
| Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner | 12 | 1984 | 1995 | |

## Accidents and incidents

* On August 31, 1998, a Boeing 727-200F (registered N722DH) suffered an engine failure on the 2nd engine shortly after taking off from John F. Kennedy International Airport. The crew declared an emergency and requested to return to the airport. Shortly after landing, the right main gear failed and the aircraft slid through the runway to a stop. The 3 flight crew members and 2 jumpseat riders were not injured.