The air freight division of Emirates said Tuesday it is more than doubling an initial order to convert used 777-300 passenger jets into cargo haulers, putting the fleet on track for 21 freighters by 2026 to meet shipper needs for more air transport. The airline is also beefing up short-term capacity in China, as exports there ramp up from China in the wake of multicity COVID quarantines.
Emirates in November reserved four production slots with Israel Aircraft Industries to reconstruct four Boeing 777s into freighters capable of carrying containerized shipments on the main level. In the middle of a news release announcing the delivery of a new, factory-built 777 freighter from Boeing (NYSE: BA), the airline revealed that it has upped its order to 10 passenger-to-freighter conversions. Emirates will supply IAI with 777 jets from its passenger fleet.
The retrofitting program will begin next year and be carried out by Etihad Aviation Group in Abu Dhabi under license to IAI, which is ahead of two other companies in developing the first design for 777 freighter conversion. IAI’s tentative schedule calls for receiving design certification in the first half of 2023 followed by delivery of the first unit to U.S. all-cargo carrier Kalitta Air.
Emirates also said it took delivery of its latest Boeing 777 freighter, completing a purchase order for two units placed last November. The first one arrived at Emirates’ Dubai hub in May.
The latest delivery maintains Emirates’ freighter fleet at 11 777s because it last week returned one aircraft to an asset management company when the lease expired.
Extra China capacity for Emirates, Etihad
Meanwhile, Emirates SkyCargo said it has added four freighter flights per week to China as shipping volumes from the world’s top manufacturing region increase because businesses want faster transport to make up for lost time when production was stalled by strict COVID protocols. Emirates now has six direct flights per week from Shanghai to Dubai, as well as two flights to Beijing and four to Guangzhou. The flights provide an additional 441 tons of cargo capacity in each direction.
Emirates SkyCargo is operating at near full capacity, but by optimizing the fleet schedule managers were able to squeeze out additional flights to China, a spokesman said.
Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Aviation Group similarly announced it has reinstated direct passenger routes to Beijing following the lifting of COVID lockdown measures and that it will continue to expand passenger flights and dedicated 777 freighter flights to China. Etihad Cargo operates Boeing 777-200 freighter flights daily for Shanghai and six times per week for Hong Kong. During the peak of the pandemic and COVID-19 restrictions, Etihad Cargo reconfigured five Boing 777 passenger aircrafts, removing the seats to enable cargo-in-cabin. With the return of passenger demand and the introduction of direct passenger flights, Etihad Cargo began converting them back. The announcement marks the end of the last reconfigured aircraft.
Emirates, the world’s fourth largest cargo carrier by volume and second largest excluding integrated couriers, moved 2.3 million tons of goods in 2021 on cargo and passenger jets, 15% more than in 2020. Pharmaceutical and other high-value products increased 17%, according to the company. Freighters and temporary cargo-only passenger jets have flown nearly 950 charter flights in the past 12 months, in addition to serving 11 dedicated freighter destinations.
Dubai-based Emirates is the largest operator of 777-300 Extended Range aircraft in the world and also flies Airbus A380s superjumbos.
Officials said they are also evaluating additional frequencies to Hanoi, Vietnam; Sydney; and Nairobi, Kenya. Nairobi would be part of a multi-stop freighter route originating in Dubai, with service to Eldoret International Airport, a regional air cargo hub in western Kenya, then Nairobi, Maastricht, Netherlands, and finally Zaragoza, Spain, before returning home. Primary commodities carried on the Africa-Europe loop would include flowers, textiles and medicines.
The air cargo sector needs a new source of large widebody freighters with many expected to soon age out, Boeing ending 747-8 freighter production this year and international emissions rules capping the 767 and 777 programs by 2028. In addition to three 777 conversion programs, Boeing this year launched development of its next-generation 777 freighter and Airbus has countered with a new freighter product based on its popular long-haul A350-1000 passenger jet.
Boeing projects 4% annual cargo growth through 2040. The market for large freighters is about 770 over that period, with half replacing older aircraft, according to Cargo Facts, a niche news and consulting business for the air cargo sector.
The 777-300 converted freighters will provide up to 25% more cargo volume than the Boeing 777-200 production freighter allowing for transport of 10 additional pallet positions and more low-density cargo, such as e-commerce parcels. It also offers 15% more volume than the 747-400, with payload weights close to both aircraft, according to Emirates and IAI.
Reconstructing a passenger plane to carry cargo is a major undertaking that requires years of engineering design and technical expertise. The conversion process includes removing seats, plugging windows, adding a rigid barrier behind the cockpit, installing a wide door for large containers and reinforcing the floor and fuselage.
Click here for more FreightWaves/American Shipper stories by Eric Kulisch.
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