Ethiopian Airlines and Boeing announced late Friday that they had signed a preliminary deal for the purchase of five 777-8 freighters. If the agreement is signed, Africa’s largest airline will be the second customer for the cargo variant of the next-generation 777.
The expansion of the freighter fleet is part of Ethiopian Airlines’ long-term goal for expanding its cargo and logistics operations and providing multimodal logistics services globally. In addition, the business has begun work of what it calls Africa’s largest e-commerce air port in Addis Abeba.
Ethiopian presently has nine 777 freighters in service. Three 737-800 Boeing freighters are also part of the carrier’s fleet. The airline also uses the belly capacity of its passenger fleet to transport goods. More than 80 aircraft are in the fleet, which includes 737s, 767s, 787s, and 777s.
Qatar Airways assumed the lead in 777-8 manufacture in late January, placing a definite order for 34 twin-engine aircraft. The first delivery to Qatar is anticipated for 2027. International aviation pollution regulations require Boeing to discontinue production of older vintage 767s and 777s that year. Lufthansa is the first in line for the 777-9 passenger version.
The 777-8 will go head-to-head with Airbus’ popular A350 widebody jetliner’s new freighter version. So far, Airbus has received definite orders and commitments for 29 A350 cargo aircraft from five clients.
According to Boeing (NYSE: BA) specifications, the 777-8 has a payload capacity approximately similar to the legacy 747-400 freighter while improving fuel efficiency and emissions by 30%, making it substantially less expensive to operate.
Last month, Boeing received an order for two current-model 777 freighters from all-cargo carrier Western Global Airlines.
Last year, Boeing received a record number of orders for new and modified freighters, including 84 orders for 767, 777, and 747 freighters, spurred by e-commerce development and demand for quicker, more dependable transportation amid severe bottlenecks in ocean shipping. This surpassed the previous high of 80 production freighters achieved in 2020. During the year, it also completed or planned to start 10 new assembly lines for passenger-to-freighter conversions around the world.
