Air France Readies For First Boeing 777 Freighter Delivery
February 19th, 2009
French Carrier Reports Poor Q3, 2008 Results
Cargo Traffic Continues To Slide
Analyst Upbeat On Market Prospects For New Boeing Freighter
Around seven months after its first flight, the sixth member of the 777 family, the first 777 Freighter (777F) will later today be handed over to launch customer Air France. The first 777F delivered is in fact the third off the production line, with the two flight test airplanes due for delivery after refurbishment and removal of flight test equipment.
China Southern Airlines and Emirates Skycargo are also due to take delivery of their first respective 777F’s later this year.
Combined, the two test airframes completed around 300 flight hours with a further 600 hours of ground testing says Boeing.
FAA certification was achieved on February 3, 2009 with EASA certifying the type on February 6, 2009. The 777F was launched back in May 2005.
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Coupled with the 747, the 777F will provide seamless network integration for freight transfer using 10ft high industry standard pallets.
Air France aims to commence operations with the airplane next month.
“The 777 is the mainstay of our long-haul fleet and elemental to our success and future growth plans,” says Air France’s Pierre Vellay who is in charge of fleet planning at Europe’s biggest airline.
While the French airline suffered a big third quarter loss, the carrier remains committed to its new freighter fleet despite what it calls “extremely difficult conditions.” Cargo traffic saw a drop of 12.5% for the quarter compared to 2007 on load factors of just over 64%. Revenues too fell around 10%, highlighting the concerns aired by IATA about the swathe of airlines reporting huge drops in freight business.
However, Arran Aerospace’s Doug McVitie spoke to me and was markedly upbeat about the prospects for the 777F and the wider freight market in general.
“In one fell swoop with the combination of all-new 777 and 747-8 freighters, Boeing is tying up the much-neglected but increasingly important global cargo market without having had to resort to the excessive and ultimately over-extended lengths of the former Airbus A380F. Before the current global financial fiasco, IATA was confidently predicting even stronger long-term growth for air cargo than for passenger traffic, and assuming there is a recovery waiting out there somewhere, Boeing is perfectly poised to take advantage of future market growth with an optimised product which will set the standard for twin-engined long-haul air freight in much the same way that the 787 will do for the passenger.
Aerospace is not a snapshot business. It’s a long-cycle, conservative industry in which evolution not revolution is the byword,” says McVitie.
The 777F is evolutionary and is highly likely to do for the upper end of the cargo sector what the 777-300ER is doing for the self-loading freight side of the business. That’s got to be good news all-round,” he adds.
Entry Filed under: Air France, Arran Aerospace, Boeing, Boeing 777, Boeing 777F, Boeing Commercial Airplanes, Doug McVitie
10 Comments Add your own
1. Jet Blast | February 19th, 2009 at 10:21
A test flight to Hong Kong is scheduled for next week. Also, HKG is expected to see the 77F in the summer.
It looks like CDG-ORD will get the first 77F route beginning March 4.
Once a week IAH will get the 77F with CDG-ORD-IAH-CDG beginning March 11.
Everything subject to change, of course.
2. Dougloid | February 19th, 2009 at 15:16
I’ve been away from the aerospace desk for a while but much is happening.
Hauling freight is good. Packages don’t complain about the lack of pillows or the lousy in flight movie. They don’t complain if the flight’s delayed a couple hours. They don’t want showers and in flight internet service. They don’t attack each other and try to join the mile high club in the back row. They do not complain about the hub city. They do not need toilets. They are, in a word, the best kind of passengers.
When the economy tanks like it has, everyone in any kind of business has to start thinking about getting back to their bread and butter revenue producers, just like I did behind the counter of the auto parts store back in the seventies. I asked an old road salesman what his secret was, and he said “Figure out what your money lines are and work them to deat. Let all the other stuff slide.”
Now. Who’s got a sweet line of efficient and up to the mark freighters and crap haulers that you can see, touch, feel and hear?
Is it too much to ask “Who’s your daddy?”
3. JerryF | February 19th, 2009 at 15:19
The Airbus 380 F is a distant glimmer, if at all. There are so many problems with this plane that those carriers wishing to defer can order this plane and not have to count on its timely arrival.
It appears that the 777F is an excellent investment and may well cut into the Cargo market more than expected. At least it is certified, produceable and reasonably economical….
4. keesje | February 22nd, 2009 at 00:24
I think the dominant freighters for the next 20 years are converted 747-400s. Phased out / replaced by A380s/ 773ERs and still 20 yrs of freight operations in them.
Heavy checked and converted in Israel, China or Singapore and selling for a thrid of the price of a new -8F or -200LRF.
I happy to not be the one that has to explains the board brand new 747-8Fs are worth the additional $150.000.000 a ship, these days.
5. boeing investor | February 22nd, 2009 at 06:47
“I think the dominant freighters for the next 20 years are converted 747-400s. Phased out / replaced by A380s/ 773ERs and still 20 yrs of freight operations in them.”
Huh??
Check the current orderbooks for freighters. Forget the state of the market - I’ll come onto that in a moment.
767F/777F/747F’s dominate and outnumber 747BCF’s.
The 777-300ER will never be a freighter as good as the 747-8F, and the A380 will not be worth the cost of converting because of the useless upper deck, good only for carrying pillow-cases or paper towels.
As for the market, dont forget the A380 survived the 9-11/SARS downturn, the 747-8F will survive this downturn - neither had a true rival during the bad time.
Yes there will some 747BCF’s, but look at the 747-200 market and how many of those went to BCF, the biz case for the 747-400 gets worse when you factor in the real possibility that over the next 20 years fuel bills will head north, not south.
Nice try Keesje.
6. keesje | February 22nd, 2009 at 14:34
747-400 will flood the market. Not only BCF but also SF’s and however other will name them.
The delayed delivery of A380’s delayed the conversion matket too.
What do you think will happen to the 747-400s from SQ, QF, LH, BA, JAL, KLM, ANA, AF, etc ? Parked in the desert?
http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_generic.jsp?channel=awst&id=news/aw102306p3.xml
Soon the lines will rmp up. How do you think those machines influence the 8F margins? Honestly?
747-200 are parked rapidly or already have been parked. B747-400F too already.
Big cargo haulers traditionaly prefer cheap high capasity coverted machines.
Spanking new expensive cargo aircraft..
7. boeing investor | February 22nd, 2009 at 15:21
How many 747-200/300’s eventually became freighters Keesje?
The fundamentals of the market today are not the same as the late 1990’s and conversion rates will not be as high as you think.
Fuel costs alone kill off that prospect.
As for the 744 fleet, some will be sold to other airlines, some will be scrapped (dont forget, last year we saw a younger (than 747) 777 scrapped because it wasnt worth the repair bill.
Sorry Keesje that article is not worth the paper its written on - its over two years old and does not take into account that there have been more orders for new build freighters than that of converted airplanes.
How about you read this from just 6 months ago:
http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2008/09/26/316483/cargo-conversion-sales-continue-to-struggle-despite-improvement-in.html
“For example, Boeing and Israel Aerospace Industries’ Bedek Aviation Group division are both struggling to find customers for their Boeing 747-400 conversion lines despite the recent improvement in feedstock. ”
It goes on:
“The 747-400 Boeing Converted Freighter (BCF) back-order, which at one point exceeded 40, now stands at only 14 aircraft.”
And:
“The 767-300ER is really going to be, from a conversion point of view, the most desirable plane in the market. The economics of that plane as a freighter are really strong.”
So you see Keesje, your dream of 747BCF’s somehow decimating the demand for newbuild jets is a very hollow and ill-thought out position, even if you believe it otherwise.
The facts are not on your side.
8. keesje | February 22nd, 2009 at 17:23
From the article you quoted.
Boeing and IAI believe the current downturn will be short-lived and the 747-400 conversion business will pick up again. “We’re in a downcycle now and hoping we’re on the cusp of an upcycle,” Floyd says.
Adds Kleiman: “The cargo market is uncertain. I don’t have a crystal ball, but we expect in four to six months to see decisions in the marketplace.”
Q Aviation senior vice-president Steve Fortune also predicts a turnaround: “Our view is the cargo market will recover in the 2010 or 2011 timeframe. Now is the time to lay ground work for that recovery.”
Quiet a different message from what you take out of it.
How many 747-100 / 200 where converted? Many hundreds. Most likely hundreds of 747-400’s will be converted too, outselling its 8F brother.
9. boeing investor | February 22nd, 2009 at 17:50
“Our view is the cargo market will recover in the 2010 or 2011 timeframe.”
Right about time the 747-8F enters service and we’ll see a good number of 777 freighters in service too offering superior economics, range and higher uplift than the converted, range restricted 747-400.
“We’re in a downcycle now and hoping we’re on the cusp of an upcycle,”
“Hope” - that doesnt translate to orders - that is a FACT, regardless of what “message” you or anyone else aspires to extract from it.
Even Air France is dumping its 747BCFs in favor of the 777F!
http://www.boeing.com/news/releases/2009/q1/090219a_nr.html
10. keesje | February 22nd, 2009 at 23:43
Range is not that important, freighters stop at e.g Anchorage, Dubai anyway. $ 150.000.000 is a lot of fuel. If credit is not an issue, I say: buy new ones..
I’m not sure a 777-200LRF can carry more then an old converted 400..
Time will show whats gonna happen.
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