Airlines to introduce 777's as freighters

[Guest Glenn]

Just been reading that the following airlines will be introducing 777's as freighters. Does anyone know of any others that will be operating the 777 as freigthers?

 

1. Air Atlanta Icelandic will introduce the first of four Boeing 777 Freighters in February 2009 on its wet-lease operations, following the deal signed by parent Avion Group at this week?s Cargo Facts Symposium in Seattle.

 

The contract, which includes two options, comes as Avion negotiates a deal with Boeing for the conversion of three Air Atlanta 747-400s to the newly rebranded ?Boeing Converted Freighter? model.

 

Avion is the second customer to finalise a 777F order, which was launched by Air France in May.

 

Developed from the 777-200LR platform, the 777F has a range of 9,190km (4,970nm) with a maximum payload of 103t.

 

2. Eva Air is considering placing an order for 10 Boeing 777 Freighters, which would establish it as the second buyer for the type following Air France?s decision to place a launch order for five last month.

 

The order would be ?in addition? to existing orders EVA has placed for 12 777-300ER and three 777-200LR passenger aircraft, says the Taiwanese carrier. Its first 777-300ER emerged from Boeing?s Seattle factory late last month.

 

?The 777F has only two engines and with jet fuel prices sky high at the moment, we realise an aircraft with two engines [as opposed to four] will save us a lot of fuel,? says the airline.

 

EVA says it is thinking about replacing its Boeing MD-11Fs ? which are about 10 years old ? with 777-200LR-based freighters from around 2009. They would be operated on long-haul routes to Europe and the USA, it says. EVA also operates 747-400 freighters.

 

Meanwhile, Airbus and Boeing have approached EVA subsidiary UNI Air about possible replacements for the airline?s fleet of Boeing MD-90s.

 

UNI is interested in Airbus A320-family aircraft or Boeing 737-800s but is in no hurry to decide because the MD-90s are ?still pretty new?. UNI?s 13 MD-90-30s were built between 1996 and 1998.

 

3. Air France spurred the long-awaited launch of Boeing's 777 freighter with an order for five of the widebody twinjets. The carrier will replace fuel-thirsty 747-200Fs with the more efficient 777F as part of a wider renewal of the Air France Cargo fleet.

 

Air France will begin taking 777F deliveries in autumn 2008, with the 747-200F being phased out by early 2009. It also has three further 777F options.

 

The 777F has a cargo capacity of 100t, which is equivalent to the 747-200F, but will burn around 30% less fuel and have 30% more range, says the carrier.

 

Definition

 

Boeing has been working closely with Air France on the definition of the aircraft.

 

The airline is already a strong 777-200ER customer, with 25 in service, and will have 20 of the -300ER passenger versions in service by the end of 2008.

 

"Adding a common airframe type is a perfect solution for them," says Marlin Dailey, vice-president sales Europe at Boeing, of Air France's decision to order the 777 freighter.

 

Air Canada has also committed to the 777F. The Canadian flag carrier says the freighter version of the aircraft will feature in its recent order for 18 777s.

 

In Europe, Dailey hopes to convince Lufthansa to order the aircraft to complement its MD-11 freighters, while several Asian carriers are actively studying the type.

 

4. Air France-KLM Group has ordered five Boeing 777 Freighters as part of its plan to renew Air France's ageing Boeing 747-200F cargo fleet.

 

SkyTeam member Air France will begin taking delivery of the 777Fs from third-quarter 2008. The order, which includes options for three more aircraft, will be used to replace Air France's 747-200Fs, which the company says are "no longer cost-efficient".

 

The carrier says the 777F fulfils its requirement for reduced operating costs, offering a 13% reduction in fuel consumption compared with the 747-400ERF and 30% against the older -200F. The payloads of the 777F and 747-200F are almost identical, at around 100t, but 10t less than the -400ERF.