According to industry sources, Emirates, a prominent cargo carrier globally, is increasing the size of its Boeing 777F freighter fleet in anticipation of a substantial surge in cargo traffic.
The order for additional freighters of the current generation preceded Boeing’s announcement that the company would be delaying its 777X jetliner series by one year, to 2026, but it did so amid tensions between Emirates and Boeing over aircraft delivery delays.
Without providing specifics, Boeing announced in September 2024 that it had received orders for 11 777F freighters from unidentified buyers.
According to the sources, a portion of the total included Emirates’ recent order for the 777F. Emirates is the biggest user of the 777 family and the biggest buyer of the 777X, its belated replacement.
According to the Emirates’ vice president and chief operating officer Adel Al Redha, the carrier is increasing the number of B777s and A380-800s it will refurbish to over 200. Since starting the programme in 2022, the airline has completed 22 jobs.
Emirates Airline President Tim Clark chastised Boeing for the 777X’s cumulative six-year delay, as the aircraft manufacturer struggles with an industrial and financial crisis. Emirates has thirty-five B777-8s and 170 B777-9s on order. Al Redha said Emirates had sought compensation from Boeing due to the delays.
Clark said given the past and present problems with the B777X programme, he “failed to see how Boeing can make any meaningful forecasts of delivery dates.”
The airline boss also told The Air Current that unless Boeing can secure additional capital through a rights issue, “I see an imminent investment downgrade with Chapter 11 looming on the horizon.”
Boeing has since secured credit of USD10 billion from lenders and has also announced plans to issue up to USD25 billion in shares or debt over the next three years to address ongoing operational woes.”
According to data from Boeing and Cirium Ascend, Emirates currently has about a dozen 777F cargo planes in its fleet, with four more on order. Cirium claims that to meet demand, it is also leasing four 747s and their crews.
New orders are often not publicly announced until the airlines are ready to do so. Emirates intends to announce a further investment in freighters, according to a senior airline executive quoted in the Abu Dhabi-based newspaper The National.
Additionally, the executive stated that Emirates was in negotiations for freighter versions of the more recent Airbus AIR. As it triples its cargo fleet by 2030, it will use the PA A350 and the 777X model.
The continuous need for dedicated freighter aircraft and passenger plane delays are not unrelated, according to analysts.
Rob Morris, head of global consultancy Cirium Ascend, stated that a lack of passenger planes from Boeing and Airbus was supporting the demand for freighters because a significant amount of air freight travels in passenger jet bellies.
Regarding Emirates’ sole Airbus order, Al Redha said the first of the 65 A350-900s is now due to arrive in November 2024 and will initially be deployed onto the Dubai – Edinburgh city pair. Service entry was originally slated for August of this year but was delayed until September and then until November.
“The aircraft is in the final stages of testing, and things are going in the right direction,” Al Redha said, while adding, “When the aircraft comes, it’s going to take over the Edinburgh flights, and later on, when we receive more of the aircraft, we will do more destinations in India and some more in the Gulf.”
“Currently, Emirates still intends to fly the A350 to the same nine initial destinations as initially disclosed in May 2024. However, while five routes were to see the brand-new sub fleet through January 2025, the latest information shows that three places now will: Edinburgh, Ahmedabad, and Mumbai,” reported Simple Flying.
Each new aircraft will have 312 seats and will, for now at least, be the carrier’s second-lowest capacity equipment after the 777-200LR (302 seats).
Unlike most aircraft in the Emirates’ fleet, there will be no first class. It will join the 777-200LR and one configuration of the 777-300ER and A380 in not having it.