Middle Eastern carrier Emirates’ SkyCargo division has taken its Boeing 747 freighter fleet to six, as the company continues to weigh its future cargo aircraft options.
Emirates says it has reached a “multi-year lease” agreement with Bulgarian-based Compass Air Cargo, which operates 747-400 freighters as well as 737 cargo jets.
The airline says this enables it to “unlock immediate capacity” and adds that the two sides are discussing “avenues for further expansion” of their co-operation.
Emirates SkyCargo says it will have six wet-leased 747 freighters to complement its fleet of 10 777Fs.
“We made significant investments in new and leased freighter aircraft [last year] to address the evolving supply chain and air cargo demands around the world, to ensure we had a stable supply of capacity to best serve our global customers,” says SkyCargo divisional senior vice-president Badr Abbas.
It is expanding its 777F fleet, with 13 of the type still on order – which will ultimately give it 21 777Fs by the end of 2026. The airline has also had plans to convert a number of 777-300ERs.
The company says its overall main-deck cargo capacity is 15% higher than the level at the beginning of last year.
Emirates has been weighing the Boeing 777-8F against the Airbus A350-1000F for its future fleet, but indicates it has yet to select a preference despite having looked to reach a decision by the end of calendar 2024.
