- Joe Breitfeller
Emirates SkyCargo to Double Capacity Within the Next Decade
Emirates SkyCargo has leased two Boeing 747 Freighters, and will double overa.. cargo capacity over the next decade. The carrier will have a fleet of over 300 aircraft by mid-2030 offering a mix of belly-hold capacity on A380s, A350s and B777s, plus dedicated freighters.
On Monday (May 8, 2023), Emirates SkyCargo announced the lease of two dedicated Boeing 747 Freighters, adding immediate capacity. The carrier will also double their cargo capacity by mod-2030 with a fleet of over 300 aircraft, offering belly-hold capacity on Airbus A380s, A350s and Boeing 777s, as well as on dedicated 777F and 747F Freighters. Emirates SkyCargo expects to add 15 more dedicated freighters from announced orders and their freighter conversion program, plus additional belly-hold capacity with the delivery of new Airbus A350s from late summer 2024 and Boeing 777Xs from 2025.
In Monday’s announcement, Emirates SkyCargo’s Divisional Senior Vice President, Nabil Sultan, said,
“While the current market volatility may cause others to hesitate, Emirates SkyCargo is pushing full steam ahead with our plans. The medium to long term projections for global air cargo show an upward trajectory of between 3-5%. Combine that Dubai’s strategy to double its foreign trade where multi-modal logistics will play a big role, and the economic activity happening in markets around the Gulf, West Asia, and Africa, and the opportunity for Emirates SkyCargo is clear.
“The 2 new 747-Fs which we have leased will give us immediate capacity, while we wait for delivery of 5 new 777Fs in 2024 and 2025, and 10 777-300ERs to roll out of our conversion program over the next 5 years. We believe even these additional planes will not be sufficient. By then, we’ll have the MRO set-up to quickly and efficiently scale-up our freighter conversion program if we needed to.
“The new aircraft mean we can expand our freighter network and amplify the connectivity with the main Emirates network. The new fleet mix also gives us more flexibility to serve our different customers even better. Emirates SkyCargo is also investing to develop new products, and to speed up digitisation and technology innovation. It is our ambition to lead the market in delivering specialist solutions that are fast, reliable, flexible, and efficient. More exciting developments to come. Stay tuned.”
The two Boeing 747 Freighters have been secured on a long-term wet-lease basis, and will complement Emirates SkyCargo’s existing fleet of 11 Boeing 777Fs. The 747Fs are currently deployed to Chicago three times weekly and to Hong Kong nine times weekly.
Emirates SkyCargo is the airfreight division of Emirates and offer service via their state-of-the-art hub in Dubai to 150 destinations across six continents. The company’s cargo terminals in Dubai offer total annual cargo capacity of one million tons, and has the ability to increase capacity to 1.3 million tons.
Source: Emirates