Orders, cancellations & deliveries — a busy couple of weeks for widebody freighters

Boeing delivered five freighters in recent weeks – two 747-8Fs, two 777Fs, and one 767-300F.  The US-based manufacturer also booked two new orders for its big 747-8F, but nonetheless saw its order book decrease as DAE cancelled five of its ten existing orders. We’ll look at the individual transactions in detail below, but first take this opportunity to remind you that changes to the freighter fleets — both widebody and narrowbody — will be among the subjects addressed in the upcoming teleconference  hosted by the senior staff at Air Cargo Management Group (Cargo Facts’ parent) on 12 December. If you are interested in what lies ahead for our industry, then join in the discussion of “10 Crucial Trends to Watch in 2013.” It’s free — just click here to sign up, or get more information.

Now, on to the details…

Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings (AAWW) took delivery of the seventh of nine 747-8Fs (37572) it has on firm order with Boeing.  The freighter will be operated on an ACMI basis by Atlas Air for Polar Air Cargo in service to DHL, and is painted in a combination of Polar and DHL liveries. Of the seven 747-8Fs Atlas has now received, three are operated for British Airways World Cargo (through AAWW’s UK-based joint venture Global Supply Systems), two for Panalpina (by Atlas Air) and two for DHL (through Polar Air Cargo, in which AAWW and DHL are 51/49 joint venture partners)..

AirBridge Cargo, the Moscow-based scheduled-service subsidiary of Volga-Dnepr Group, took delivery of the third of five 747-8Fs (37580) it has on order with Boeing.

Dubai Aerospace Enterprise took delivery of a 777F (35609) which will be operated Emirates on long-term lease. 

FedEx took delivery of a 777F (41069). This is the twenty-third 777F to join the FedEx fleet — twenty direct from Boeing, three purchased (on delivery) from Air France-KLM

DHL took delivery of the last of six 767-300Fs (37810) it had on firm order [FAT 000544].

In addition to these delvieries, Boeing also reported two new 747-8F orders (placed on 27 November) by an unidentified customer, as well as the cancellation by lessor Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) of five of its ten orders for the jumbo freighter. As shown in the chart at right, Boeing has now delivered twenty-seven 747-8Fs, and has firm orders for 40 more. 

This is the second time DAE has reduced its 747-8F order. The first reduction took place late last year when DAE swapped five of its fifteen 747-8F orders for 777Fs (destined for Emirates), but neither Boeing nor DAE has commented on the reason for the latest cancellation.

Likewise, no announcement has been made regarding the identity of the customer placing the two-unit order. There is considerable speculation that a deal among Boeing, Cathay Pacific, and Air China Cargo for both 777Fs and 747-8Fs is in the works, but that is believed to involve more than two -8Fs, so this new order may have come from a different source.