China Airlines to remove 4 more 747-400Fs in 2027

China Airlines has agreed to sell four of its production 747-400Fs to Cargolux and plans to remove them in 2027 as it continues to renew its freighter fleet. The sale includes the four CF6 engines for each aircraft and China Airlines expects to progressively phase out the four freighters before delivering them to Cargolux in 2027, the Taiwan-based carrier’s cargo marketing and planning department told Cargo Facts . [caption id="attachment_57297887" align="aligncenter" width="2560"] China Airlines will still have four 747-400Fs after removing the four going to Cargolux. (Photo/Cargo Facts)[/caption] The total transaction amount is around $85 million, China Airlines said in a June 23 Taiwan Stock Exchange filing. The deal is an expansion of the agreement that China Airlines disclosed on Nov. 26, 2025, to sell two 747-400Fs to Cargolux for a total of $40 million. It said at the time that it was negotiating the sale of two more units. The price per unit falls roughly into appraisal firm Oriel’s half-life range, although it all depends on the maintenance status of the engines as well as the airframes themselves, Senior ISTAT Certified Appraiser Olga Razzhivina told Cargo Facts . Mark Halsor, president of Aviation Asset Management, told Cargo Facts that his firm values early production, half-life-condition, GE-powered 747-400Fs in the low-to-mid-$20 million range, with later models reaching the low-to-mid-$30 million range. “I do think $85 million is a reasonable price for four 747-400Fs … and we know that both of these carriers know the long-haul freighter market,” he said. “In short, I don’t think either side made a killing in this deal.” Transitioning to 777s As part of its transition to new twinjet freighters, China Airlines took delivery of its first 777F in 2020 and now has ten . It also has eight 777-8Fs and four more 777Fs on order from Boeing, the carrier previously told Cargo Facts. Over the past five years, China Airlines’ active fleet of production 747-400Fs has dwindled from twenty to eight as of today, ranging from 2007- to 2004-vintage, including the four destined for Cargolux. Previously one of the largest operators of the type, it has sold units that have ended up with operators including: Air Atlanta Icelandic ; Atlas Air ; AirZeta ; Challenge Airlines ; and National Airlines . Meanwhile, Cargolux remains one of the largest 747 freighter operators, with fourteen 747-8Fs and sixteen 747-400Fs. The -400Fs are all 1999- to 2009-vintage production units from, powered by CF6s and RB211s. The last time Cargolux added to its fleet was in 2020, when it purchased a 2006-vintage 747-400F (35170) previously in operation with CargoLogicAir. It is unclear whether the incoming ex-China Airlines units will replace any of Cargolux’s -400Fs. The carrier was not available for comment. Toward the end of the decade, Cargolux also will move into the 777 segment when it starts taking delivery of at least ten 777-8Fs it ordered in 2022. Cargo Facts Symposium 2026, the premier event for the freighter aircraft and air cargo industries, will take place in Nashville, Tenn., on Oct. 21-23. Find out more and register by Sept. 4 to take advantage of early-bird pricing.

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