As you’re doing your Black Friday shopping today, you might want to keep an eye out for some interesting “deals” out there! Chinese auction site Taobao (similar to eBay here in the US) recently had 3 listings of Boeing 747 cargo jets, with starting bids at around 122 million Chinese yuan (~$18.5 Million USD). The auctions just concluded a few days ago, and two of the jets were sold for a total of $322 million Chines yuan (~49 Million USD).
One of the Boeing 747 Cargo Jets sold for $162 Million Chinese yuan, or about $24.5 million USD.
These cargo jets were originally owned by Jade Cargo International, a cargo airline based in Shenzhen (SZX) founded in 2004. The airline operated routes throughout Asia, Europe, the Middle East, South America, and Africa. However, it closed down in 2012, and the jets have been parked at Shanghai Pudong airport (PVG) since the company declared bankruptcy in 2013.
For those curious, the winning bidder is SF Express, China’s largest private courier. The company confirmed to South China Morning Post that it was the winning bidder, but would not elaborate further. Interestingly, there seemed to be quite a bidding war going on towards the end, though the identity of the competitor remains unknown.
There was a bit of a bidding war going on for the two Boeing 747s near the end of the auction.
These jets were auctioned off by Shenzhen Municipal Intermediate People’s Court, who resorted to Taobao after being unable to find buyers through traditional channels. It looks like they might still have some work to do, though, considering one of the three jets listed did not receive any bids at all. So, if you are (because obviously…who isn’t?) in the market for a used Boeing 747 cargo jet, subscribe to the auction page—you might still have a chance if they re-list the item!
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1 comment
Per the listing photos, the third 747 (that did not sell) is missing engine number 4, so that alone makes it non-flyable. If it has any other missing or damaged equipment, and/or if the flight and maintenance logs are incomplete, then it’s going to be a white elephant.
Maybe someone can convert into a static hotel.