Freighter reactivations and delayed retirements buoy fleet in 2020

Approximately 126 jet freighter aircraft have been added to the active fleet globally so far in 2020, according to Cargo Facts research. [caption id="attachment_414969" align="alignright" width="500"] Georgia-based Easycharter launched operations with its first aircraft this year. (Photo: Easycharter)[/caption] Of the 126 aircraft, ninety-five were deliveries of newly built or converted jets: thirty-five production freighters and sixty conversion redeliveries, according to the Cargo Facts Freighter Aircraft Transaction Database. These aircraft were not in active service at the end of 2019. With additional freighter deliveries planned before the year is over, according to fleet estimates from FedEx and UPS, 2020 deliveries are roughly in line with the recent historical precedent. The five-year rolling average for annual production freighter deliveries totaled 39.6 units between 2015-2019, according to data from the manufacturers. Compared to last year, however, deliveries are lower. In 2019, a total of fifty-two production freighters were delivered, including twenty-five 777Fs, twenty 767-300Fs and seven 747-8Fs, according to 2019 freighter order and delivery analysis from Cargo Facts . Based on recent inductions and the number of aircraft currently in conversion, redeliveries of freighter conversions will ultimately closely track 2019 figures of seventy-two conversions, according to the FAT Database, even if not all will enter service by yearend. As of Nov. 17, at least forty-two jet aircraft were being staged for induction or currently undergoing conversion to freighter configuration under existing STCs, according to aircraft storage data from ch-aviation and Cargo Facts analysis. With both deliveries of production freighters and redeliveries of freighter conversions down compared to 2019, freighter reactivations and delayed retirements have enabled a greater net addition of main-deck capacity in 2020. There were about thirty-one reactivations in 2020, including aircraft that were not in service at the end of 2019 and are either now active, or out of storage and expected to fly before the year is over. In recent years, aircraft reactivations have been relatively infrequent, and have primarily involved 747-400 production freighters, according to Cargo Facts’ freighter fleet analyses. In 2019, just four large widebody production freighters were brought out of storage, including one 747-400F and three 747-400BCFs, according to our latest widebody freighter fleet analysis , whereas 2020 has seen sixteen large widebody freighters reactivated to date. Jet freighter aircraft additions in 2020 as of Nov. 30 Sources: Cargo Facts, carriers, Flightradar24, planespotters.net

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