Emirates orders five Boeing 777F freighters and plans further investment

Emirates, one of the world's biggest cargo carriers, is expanding its fleet with a new order of five Boeing 777F freighters that will boost capacity to meet “strong” demand with Dubai cementing its position as a global logistics hub.

The airline also signed a multi-year agreement with Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) to extend the lease on four Boeing 777Fs that are already in its fleet, it said on Monday.

Based on these deals, Emirates' cargo arm SkyCargo expects to operate a fleet of 21 production-built Boeing 777F freighters by December 2026, expanding its current fleet of 11 freighters.

Emirates also plans to make a decision by the end of this year on its future freighter fleet for 2028-2029 and beyond with an additional order, for which, it will choose between the Boeing 777X freighter version (known as the 777-8F) and the Airbus A350-1000F, it said.

The announcement confirms The National's report last week that the airline is in talks with Airbus and Boeing for a new freighter aircraft order and is weighing the freighter versions of the A350 and 777X as it plans to triple its cargo fleet by 2030.

“We’re investing in new freighter aircraft to meet surging demand and provide our customers around the world with even more flexibility, connectivity and options to leverage market opportunity,” Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed, chairman and chief executive of Emirates airline and Group, said.

“Demand for Emirates’ air cargo services has been booming. This reflects Dubai’s growing prominence as a preferred and trusted global logistics hub.”

The airline is weighing a new freighter order amid a capacity shortage due to late aircraft deliveries and strong demand for air cargo services, Nadeem Sultan, its senior vice president of freighters and cargo planning, told The National at the Aviation Future Week last week.

Also last week, Emirates president Tim Clark last said that the airline will have a “serious conversation” with Boeing in the next two months after the troubled US plane maker again pushed back the delivery date for its 777X, delaying its largest wide-body aircraft by about six years.

Meanwhile, the A350 freighter is powered by Rolls-Royce's Trent XWB-97 engines and Mr Clark has previously expressed concerns about its durability in hot and harsh weather. Rolls-Royce has said it has invested heavily in improving performance.

On Monday, Emirates also said it “remains invested” in converting 10 passenger Boeing 777-3000ERs into freighters for further capacity and fleet growth.

The agreement that Emirates' SkyCargo signed in 2021 was for the conversion of four Boeing 777-300ER passenger aircraft into full freighters and included an option for further Boeing 777-300ER conversions at a later stage.

The conversion programme for the four aircraft was scheduled to start early last year and be completed in 2024 with each aircraft taking up to an estimated five months for the process, the airline said at the time.

Asked about the status of the project, an Emirates representative said: “Despite the technical delays our partner is currently experiencing with the freighter conversions, we remain confident in the programme … This is an important addition to our future fleet ... in line with evolving customer trends. We look forward to deploying them across our network to move goods quickly and efficiently.”

Middle Eastern carriers recorded a 13.5 per cent year-on-year increase in air cargo demand in August, according to the latest figures from the International Air Transport Association (Iata).

Globally, total demand, measured in cargo tonne-kilometres (CTKs), rose by 11.4 per cent compared to August last year, marking the ninth consecutive month of double-digit year-on-year growth, with levels reaching heights not seen since the record peaks of 2021, Iata said in its report.

Boeing's Commercial Market Outlook forecasts that an additional 2,845 freighters will enter service over the next 20 years to support growing global trade and e-commerce demand.