China Eastern revealed as customer behind two 777Fs

The mystery is no more — the customer for the two 777Fs Volga-Dnepr Group tried to stop Boeing from selling is China Eastern . The order had been attributed to an unidentified customer in Boeing’s tally for May [FATs 005483-005484]. The first aircraft (66623) was seen returning from a test flight at Boeing’s Everett (PAE) facility, newly painted in the colors of China Cargo Airlines , cargo subsidiary of the Shanghai-based carrier. China Cargo Airlines new 777 test flight at KPAE today. pic.twitter.com/ziisLoBRkx

— Jennifer Schuld (@JenSchuld) June 24, 2020 The two 777Fs, along with a third, were originally destined for Volga-Dnepr’s AirBridgeCargo affiliate under a sale-leaseback agreement with DAE Capital in 2019 . After Volga told Boeing earlier this year it would be unable to take delivery, Boeing began remarketing at least some of the aircraft and sent a new purchase agreement in early April to China Eastern for two 777Fs. Volga later sought a restraining order against Boeing in May, claiming it had rescinded its repudiation of the contract. The court gave Boeing the green light to proceed with the sale to China Eastern in early June. According to documents filed by Boeing in the case, the 777F purchase agreement with China Eastern also included a credit memorandum conditional on the carrier placing orders for 777Xs and additional 787s by June 30. We hinted at the possibility of the mystery customer being one of the three major Chinese carriers, given the presence of a redacted “consenting party” in the purchase agreement. In China Eastern’s case, that party appears to be China Eastern Aviation Import and Export Corporation, based on past transactions with both Airbus and Boeing. China Cargo Airlines is a subsidiary of Eastern Air Logistics ( EAL ), which is 45% owned by China Eastern. EAL filed a prospectus for an initial public offering (IPO) on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in July 2019 , and recently submitted a second prospectus restating its intention to expand China Cargo Airlines’ freighter fleet with more 777Fs. The prospectus also mentioned a specific preference for the environmental benefits of the 777F over the 747F, and the need to consolidate its fleet around the twin-engine platform. The carrier plans to extend the leases on all six of its current 777Fs for another six years. EAL intends to purchase two additional GE90 engines as spares for the 777F fleet, and confirmed it would not be extending the lease on a 747-400F (28263, ex-Great Wall Airlines). Unit 28263 was returned to GECAS in mid-May after a nine-year term. Its last activity appears to have been a test flight at Xiamen (XMN) on May 26. China Cargo Airlines also has two other 747-400Fs. One (35207) was acquired in October 2018, and the other (35208) in September 2019 from SNC Ali Finance after a twelve-year financial lease. Guangzhou-based China Southern Airlines took delivery of two 777Fs from Boeing (65421 and 65422) in May, and remains the largest 777F operator in China, with fourteen. Air China Cargo , meanwhile, has eight 777Fs.

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China Eastern revealed as customer behind two 777Fs

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