ULS Airlines Cargo

An Airbus A310 with a large cargo door, built in the early 1990s, in regular service – today that exists at only a handful of operators. One of them is based in Istanbul: ULS Airlines Cargo. The small cargo airline has its roots in the Kuzu group, formerly also flew the A300B4 and is currently rebuilding its fleet with converted A330-300s. For spotters, it is a rare mix of classic and present. This page shows you how to recognize ULS with confidence and where you have a chance of getting the last A310s in front of your lens.

ULS Airlines Cargo at a glance

ULS Airlines Cargo is a Turkish all-cargo airline based in Istanbul. The operating company is ULS Havayolları Kargo Taşımacılık A.Ş., and the owner is the ULS logistics group – the three letters stand for Universal Logistics Systems. That is also where the callsign “UNIVERSAL CARGO” comes from.

The hub is now at Istanbul Airport. The airline grew up at the old Atatürk Airport, though, where its maintenance operation was also based. Besides its own charter and scheduled cargo flights, ULS leases aircraft with crew to other companies. This ACMI business is an important mainstay. According to its own description, line-level maintenance and type training for crews are also part of the offering alongside cargo.

Since September 2023, ULS has been a full member of IATA, and it also belongs to the cargo association TIACA. It does not belong to an aviation alliance, which is also unusual for pure cargo airlines.

History: from Baron through Kuzu to ULS

The airline started in 2004 and changed its name twice within its first few months. It was founded as Baron Hava Kargo, and still in the fall of 2004 it was called Kuzu Airlines Cargo – named after the Kuzu group it emerged from. The Turkish aviation authority also issued the air operator certificate in 2004. The ICAO code KZU recalls this period to this day.

Fleet histories list the Airbus A300B4 as a former type, the early version of the first Airbus widebody. Around 2008/2009, three A310 freighters joined. According to widespread reports, they came from Emirates SkyCargo, the cargo division of Emirates. In 2008 the ULS Group took over the company, and in summer 2009 the airline received its current name.

A new chapter began in February 2021: ULS took over its first Airbus A330-300, which was ferried from Copenhagen to Istanbul-Atatürk. The aircraft initially arrived in passenger configuration and was intended for later conversion to a freighter. A second A330 followed in 2021. An expansion with Boeing 737s announced in 2023 has not been carried out to this day.

In May 2025, it was time: the first converted A330-300P2F, registered TC-GOL, entered service, followed shortly after by the second, TC-GOU.

Year	Event
2004	Founded as Baron Hava Kargo, renamed Kuzu Airlines Cargo
2008	Takeover by the ULS Group
2008/2009	Three Airbus A310 freighters join the fleet
2009	New name: ULS Airlines Cargo
2021	Purchase of two Airbus A330-300s
2023	Full IATA membership
2025	First A330-300P2F in service after conversion at EFW

Codes and callsign

• IATA code GO: appears in flight numbers and on air waybills. You almost never see it on departure boards, because cargo flights rarely appear there.
• ICAO code KZU: appears in the air traffic control flight plan and on flight trackers. For you as a spotter, it is the most important identifier.
• Callsign UNIVERSAL CARGO: this is how the crew identifies itself on the radio. With a scanner at the fence, you will not hear “ULS” but “Universal Cargo.”

The ICAO code is especially helpful here because ULS flies a lot on behalf of others. A flight under another carrier’s flight number can still be operated by a ULS freighter. How flight number, callsign and code relate is explained in the article on the difference between callsign and flight number. The basics of the code systems are covered in IATA and ICAO codes explained.

The fleet: A310 meets A330

ULS is a pure Airbus airline with a small fleet. The official fleet list names five freighters, while a fleet database listed four active aircraft in August 2026 with an average age of around 30 years. The difference lies in the A310s, whose number is falling with retirements. So read the figures as a snapshot.

Type	Registrations	Year built	Payload / pallets	Spotter note
Airbus A310-300F	TC-SGM, TC-VEL, TC-LER	1991–1992	about 40 t, 16 pallets main deck + 6 lower deck	One of the last A310 freighters in scheduled service
Airbus A330-300P2F	TC-GOL, TC-GOU	2000	about 62 t, up to 37 pallets	Converted at EFW, TC-GOL in Dresden
Airbus A300B4	–	–	–	Former type, no longer in the fleet

A310-300F: the classic

The A310 is a shortened development of the A300 and was one of the first widebody jets with a two-person cockpit in the 1980s. As a passenger aircraft it has largely disappeared, and as a freighter it survives at only a few airlines. The ULS aircraft were built in 1991 and 1992. According to the airline, each takes 16 pallets on the main deck and six in the lower deck.

For spotters, that means: every A310 sighting at ULS has rarity value. An industry report from May 2025 names 2027 and 2029 as the planned retirement years. Exactly when the last A310 goes depends on how quickly more A330s follow. How to gauge the rarity of your sighting is explained in the article How rare is my sighting?.

A330-300P2F: the new generation

The two A330s have had a bit of an odyssey. ULS bought them in 2021 as passenger jets, later sold them to the US lessor ATSG and leased them back after conversion. Elbe Flugzeugwerke (EFW) handled the conversion, and TC-GOL was converted in Dresden. Both aircraft date from 2000, and TC-GOL flies with Rolls-Royce Trent 700 engines.

TC-GOL set off on May 10, 2025, for its first mission from Istanbul to Cairo, on an ACMI contract for Turkish Airlines. According to the airline, an A330-300P2F carries around 62 tons. On TC-GOU, the pallets are distributed across 26 positions on the main deck and eleven in the lower deck. In the long term, ULS wants to expand the fleet to as many as six A330-300P2Fs and thereby replace the A310s.

Unlike the factory-built A330-200F, the converted A330-300 has no bulge under the nose. Instead, the fuselage is much longer. You will find more about the basic type on the page for the Airbus A330-300.

A300B4: the past

The A300B4 belongs to the first generation of the Airbus widebody jet. At ULS, or rather Kuzu, it is a closed chapter. Anyone still looking for an A300 in freight service is more likely to find one in the more modern A300-600F, for example at MNG Airlines or AeroUnion.

How to recognize ULS Airlines Cargo

With such a small fleet, you can match almost every aircraft by its registration. The livery alone is not always enough, though: on ACMI work, flight numbers and customers can change, and with charter freighters, not every flight appears in a public schedule.

An A310 is easy to tell from an A300, by the way: the fuselage is visibly shorter, the wings are smaller, and the horizontal stabilizer looks more compact in proportion. More identifying features for freighters are in the guide Recognizing cargo aircraft. How to read a registration and keep following an aircraft is explained in Understanding aircraft registrations.

Spotting ULS Airlines Cargo

Istanbul

At the hub in Istanbul, your chances are best. The ULS freighters take off and land here, and with MNG Airlines and Turkish Cargo you have the Turkish cargo competition right next to one another. The guide Plane spotting in Istanbul shows good locations. In Turkey, special rules apply to photography at airports; before the trip, be sure to read the overview of photographing at airports in Turkey.

Cairo, Europe and other destinations

ULS offers cargo flights domestically and abroad, but the airline does not publish a fixed route network. Documented, for example, is the A330P2F’s first flight to Cairo. There is no public schedule with fixed German destinations. Charter and ACMI flights are often scheduled at short notice. If you are hoping for ULS in Central Europe, filter your tracker for KZU and check regularly. Larger cargo airports are naturally the best candidates for that.

Dresden

A special feature for German spotters: the first A330-300P2F, TC-GOL, was converted at Elbe Flugzeugwerke in Dresden. Such conversion freighters often show up at the airport before delivery. For ULS this chapter is over, but if more A330s are converted for the fleet, it is worth keeping an eye on Dresden. The starting point is the observation deck at Dresden Airport, and background is in the guide Plane spotting in Dresden.

ACMI: why ULS often flies for others

A large part of ULS’s business is ACMI. The abbreviation stands for Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance and Insurance: ULS provides the aircraft with crew, maintenance and insurance, and the customer takes care of marketing and cargo. According to industry reports, ULS’s A310s and A330s fly on behalf of Turkish Airlines, or Turkish Cargo, among others. The airline’s reference list also includes names such as DHL, UPS, Qatar Airways and Saudia as well as United Nations aid organizations.

For you as a spotter, this means: the flight number on the departure board or in the tracker can belong to another airline while a ULS freighter is actually flying. How the principle works is explained in the article Wet lease explained. The ICAO code KZU in the data or the registration provides clarity.

ULS compared

Airline	Home	Typical aircraft	Feature
ULS Airlines Cargo	Istanbul	A310-300F, A330-300P2F	Small private airline with a strong ACMI business
MNG Airlines	Istanbul	A300-600F, A330F, A321P2F	Larger private cargo airline, A350F on order
Turkish Airlines (Turkish Cargo)	Istanbul	Widebody freighters of various types	Cargo division of the national airline, also charters from ULS
AeroUnion	Mexico	A300F, 767F	Another airline with Airbus classics

If you want to compare A330 freighters, you will also find them at Avianca Cargo. The lessor of ULS’s A330s, ATSG, itself operates a cargo airline with Air Transport International.

Common mix-ups

• Confusing ULS with MNG – both are Turkish cargo airlines with Airbus freighters, but with different codes (KZU versus MNB) and types.
• Thinking ULS is part of Turkish Airlines – ULS is private and flies for Turkish Cargo only on contract.
• Mistaking the A310 for an A300 – the A310 is shorter and has smaller wings. No A300 flies at ULS today.
• Thinking the ICAO code KZU is an error – it dates from the time as Kuzu Airlines Cargo.
• Attributing every A330 freighter with a TC registration to ULS – MNG and Turkish Cargo also fly A330Fs.

Conclusion

ULS Airlines Cargo is small, but exciting for collectors. The airline from Istanbul keeps a type alive in the A310-300F that has disappeared almost everywhere, while setting the course for the future with the A330-300P2Fs. Because the A310s will go in the next few years, now is the best time to hunt. Remember the registrations, filter for KZU and plan a visit to Istanbul. When the time comes, the article Spotting farewell and final flights helps you not to miss the last flight.