The airline is using the 747s on trips to North America and Asia.
Emirates has confirmed the leasing of two Boeing 747-400 freighter aircraft as part of broader ambitions to expand the capacity of its SkyCargo business. These will increase the airline’s flexibility with its current Boeing 777F aircraft and turn Emirates into a rare operator of both the 747 and the Airbus A380.
The 747 is still in operation today.
The longer-term objective of Emirates SkyCargo, which was announced this morning, is for its capacity to double within the next ten years. Emirates has started operating a pair of leased Boeing 747-400F aircraft, which will play a more immediate part in this plan than new planes, modifications, and greater belly-hold capacity in passenger flights.
The two new 747-Fs we have leased will give us immediate capacity as we wait for the delivery of five new 777Fs in 2024 and 2025 and ten 777-300ERs to roll out of our conversion program over the next five years, according to Emirates SkyCargo’s Divisional Senior Vice President Nabil Sultan.
Even these extra planes, in our opinion, won’t be enough. By that time, the MRO will be ready to grow our freighter conversion program swiftly and effectively if necessary.Emirates said that because the 747s’ leases are long-term, they will likely remain in use for the foreseeable future. With these aircraft, it is now running 12 rotations per week, with nine of them serving Hong Kong International Airport (HKG). The 747-400F is sent to Chicago O’Hare (ORD) for the other three.
Emirates has experience flying the 747-400F.
Actually, this isn’t the first time Emirates SkyCargo has used the Boeing 747-400F’s services. In fact, ATDB.aero shows 10 instances of this aircraft type as having previously flown for the UAE flag carrier’s airfreight business, which is situated in Dubai.
Some of these have even been around for the last five years.These earlier instances also came to the airline on a lease arrangement, much as the Boeing 747-400 freighters that Emirates SkyCargo has lately started flying. They came from a number of different airlines, such as World Airways, ASL Airlines Belgium, Atlas Air, Cargolux, and Cargolux Italia.
The many leases for these aircraft covered approximately two decades, starting with the arrival of the first one (N408MC) in January 2001. After barely two years on lease in the UAE, Emirates SkyCargo’s final Boeing 747-400F at the time (LX-GCL) left for Cargolux Italia 19 years later, in January 2020.
both double-decker quadjets in flight
Emirates is now a rare current operator of aircraft from both the Airbus A380 and Boeing 747 families thanks to the recent addition of the Boeing 747-400F to its SkyCargo fleet. Although Lufthansa possesses both, its A380s won’t start operating again until the following month. Airlines that now operate both types of aircraft are Korean Air, Asiana Airlines, and Qatar Airways, who all operate 747 freighters.
