2022: The new era of production freighters

Production freighters in 2022 gained some tailwinds with the total number of orders placed with Boeing and Airbus increasing to 120 aircraft from just ninety-one in 2021. Although the net orders for the freighters in 2022 grew by 18% year over year, the number of known customers increased to seventeen from ten. Orders for at least four 777Fs remain unidentified. As the table below shows, the 777-8F — successor to the 747-8F — was clearly the leader of the pack, accounting for 49% of the orders for the year. For the second year in a row, we acknowledge the end of a production freighter since Boeing has now rolled out its final, legendary 747-8F. But on a positive note, the 777F accounted for 29% of the orders in 2022 and the new A350F was not far behind with 17% of the orders placed. Airbus A350F gains market share Nearly a year and a half since Airbus announced the A350F program, the European aircraft manufacturer has now secured thirty-one orders for its new large-widebody freighter. Airbus in 2021 confirmed a combined total of eleven orders from Air Lease Corporation and CMA CGM, while Singapore Airlines and Air France signed letters of intent (LOIs) for eleven more units. Singapore Airlines firmed up its orders in February 2022 at the Singapore Air Show for seven A350Fs with an option for five more. Meanwhile, Etihad Airways announced at the same event that it had signed an LOI for seven of the new Airbus freighters as the Middle Eastern carrier continues to execute on its plan to take advantage of synergies with its passenger fleet by transitioning away from 777s. On the western European front, Air France ensured that Airbus’ orders continued to grow when the airline finalized its order for four firm A350Fs with an option for four more. As the year progressed, Airbus saw more interest in its new freighter heat up during the summer and ended up just two freighters shy of doubling its previous year’s total when Silk Way West ordered two A350Fs in June with an option for two more. 777-8F shows signs of growth [caption id="attachment_417438" align="alignright" width="450"] The 777-8F will carry Boeing's legacy into the future with two engines. (Photo/Boeing)[/caption] Boeing’s new 777-8F, capable of carrying 112 tonnes over a range of more than 4,410 nautical miles, generated strong interest from multiple carriers during the first year on offer to customers, and Qatar Airways earned the title of “launch customer” with its order for thirty-four of the type, plus an option for sixteen more. Actively pursuing options to expand and diversify its cargo fleet, Ethiopian Airlines signed a memorandum of understanding with Boeing in March 2022 for five 777-8Fs, while Lufthansa sprang into action in May 2022 by announcing an order for seven 777-8Fs. Global interest for the 777-8F would extend to the Asia-Pacific region where Boeing received an order from All Nippon Airways (ANA) for two 777-8Fs in July 2022. Boeing would complete its orders for the year with Cargolux committing to ten firm 777-8Fs in September with an option for six more, bringing the manufacturer’s order total for the 777-8F’s first year to fifty-nine units. For the purposes of the above chart, MoUs and LOIs are not included in our order totals. 777F orders experience mild jet lag A staple in the Boeing production freighters group, 777F orders in 2022 declined by five units compared with 2021, but the number of deliveries increased by five. DHL Express led the charge in March by adding six more 777Fs to its orderbook with Boeing, bringing the express integrator’s total orders for the freighter type to twenty-eight. The company also took delivery of four 777Fs in 2022 and placed two of the freshly built freighters with its fourth CMI partner Singapore Airlines. The other two have now joined DHL Air UK. In October, Dubai-based Emirates placed an order for five more 777Fs, after taking delivery of two factory-built 777 freighters (67462 and 67463) in May and June, respectively. In Addis Ababa, almost 1,400 nautical miles southwest of Dubai, Ethiopia’s national carrier announced an order for five more 777Fs in May, bringing the carrier’s fleet total to as many as fourteen aircraft and establishing the airline as one of the largest operators of the freighter type. China Airlines, meanwhile, continued its transition to twin-engine widebody freighters by placing a top-up order with Boeing for four more 777Fs to serve as replacements for the airline’s 747-400Fs. The Taiwan-based carrier took delivery of one 777F in March 2022 and another in December, and now has five. China Cargo Airlines rounded out the 777F deliveries and added seven new aircraft in 2022, becoming the recipient of the most 777Fs for the year. CMA CGM and FedEx Express each placed two more 777Fs into service, while Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings took delivery of its first directly ordered 777F, which it placed on a long-term wet lease with Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC). 767-300F orders have to do push UPS [caption id="attachment_56861151" align="alignright" width="450"] The 767-300F will remain a workhorse for years to come. (Photo/FedEx)[/caption] With the twin-engine medium widebody seeing one of the lowest order numbers in the past five years, two of the world’s three largest express companies signed up for a combined total of ten 767-300Fs in 2022. UPS ordered eight and FedEx Express added two more to its orderbook with Boeing. FedEx received the bulk of Boeing’s medium-widebody deliveries and added eleven more 767-300Fs to its fleet, while Maersk and Air Canada took delivery of three and two 767-300Fs, respectively, bringing the aircraft’s total deliveries for 2022 to sixteen. Looking back to the beginning of the year, January was the month with the most activity overall, with orders for thirty-four 777-8Fs and eight 777Fs, along with eight 777F deliveries. UPS took delivery of its last two 747-8Fs (65774 and 65775) in 2022, and Atlas Air took three (67149, 67147 and 67148) of the four units on its orderbook. The final quad-engine freighter is expected to be delivered in 2023. As the industry bids adieu to the final 747-8F to roll off Boeing’s production line, our order and delivery tables will only consist of twin-engine freighters going forward and 777-8Fs and A350Fs will carry the weight of their predecessors, ushering in the new era of production large widebody freighters. This feature was originally published in the January 2023 issue of Cargo Facts. Cargo Facts EMEA, the essential event for stakeholders in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, will take place live Feb. 6-8 in Dubai. Register today.

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