Today (1/27) Taiwan-based China Airlines announced to purchase four more new Boeing 777F freighters. The deliveries are slated to commence in 2023 and six 777F freighters have progressively entered service with China Airlines since 2020. Ordering four new aircraft will eventually bring the 777F freighter fleet to ten aircraft in total. This expansion of the 777F freighter fleet, alongside the world’s largest 747F freighter fleet, will boost the already considerable cargo carrying capacity of China Airlines.

China Airlines is the fifth largest air cargo carrier in the world. The ongoing fleet acquisition program will boost operating performance by balancing network development and market movements against the aircraft replacement schedule. China Airlines began taking delivery of six 777F freighters in December 2020. Three have been delivered so far with two more slated for 2022 and one more lined-up in 2023; delivery of the four newly ordered 777F freighters will commence in 2023 and be completed in 2024.

The 777F is a twin-engine freighter whose high performance and fuel efficiency makes it suitable for trans-Pacific routes, having fewer restrictions on payload and enabling more efficient use of hold space. The aircraft is equipped with fully temperature-controlled cargo holds. The main cargo hold can be fitted with cargo pallet restraint systems used for carrying semiconductor machinery and engines, providing high-value cargo such as precision instruments and temperature-controlled goods with optimal carriage services.

China Airlines benefited from the cargo-carrying capacity of its eighteen 747F and three 777F freighters due to the strong demand in the cargo market during to the COVID-19 pandemic. These aircraft, along with the belly hold cargo of passenger aircraft, delivered exceptional results. Multiple records were broken in 2021, including sending out over a hundred cargo charter flights in one month, surpassing TWD 15.4 billion in single-month cargo revenues in December, exceeding TWD 10 billion in cargo revenues for five consecutive months, and sweeping past TWD 100 billion in cargo revenues for the entire year. China Airlines is focusing all efforts on the cargo market. Once the new freighters are progressively introduced into service, the additional capacity they bring will be utilized to capture global business opportunities. (2022/01/27)