Freighter

The Airbus A330-200F - Meeting a full range of cargo lift requirements

Meet the Airbus’ Head of Freighter Andreas Hermann and Crawford Hamilton, Head of the Airbus A330/A340 Marketing.

The anticipated increase in demand for air cargo services will be met in part with  the new mid-size long-haul Airbus freighter: the A330-200F. Read more

New Boeing 747-8 Freighter completes certification flight testing

The new Boeing 747-8 Freighter successfully completed its certification flight test program on Tuesday, with two aircraft landing at Paine Field in Everett, Washington. Flight test aircraft RC522 completed testing of the flight management computer (FMC) and RC523 completed function & reliability (F&R) testing. Read more

Etihad Crystal Cargo announces Almaty Freighter operation

Etihad Crystal Cargo, the air cargo division of Etihad Airways,  has today announced a new dedicated freighter operation from Abu Dhabi to Almaty in Kazakhstan.

The service will commence operations on July 28, 2011, using the airline’s Airbus A330-200F freighter with a payload of 59 metric tonnes on the route. Read more

Etihad Crystal Cargo commences Airbus A330-200 freighter aircraft services

Etihad Crystal Cargo, a division of Etihad Airways, has commenced scheduled services with its first Airbus A330-200 freighter aircraft, operating from Abu Dhabi to Tripoli in Libya. Read more

Etihad delivery of first Airbus A330-200 Freighter marks record month

Etihad Airways has taken delivery of its first Airbus A330-200 freighter aircraft.

Etihad is the launch customer for the freighter which made its maiden flight from Airbus in Toulouse to the airline’s base in Abu Dhabi on Monday evening, 9th August.

The freighter will boost the airline’s expanding fleet of cargo aircraft and arrives at a time when cargo volumes are at their highest for Etihad.

Etihad Crystal Cargo carried a record tonnage in July of more than 23,000 tonnes. More than 30,000 shipments were carried during the month, driven by increased volumes from Pakistan, Australia, China and Bangladesh. The United Arab Emirates was the top cargo destination.

In the year to date Etihad Crystal Cargo has experienced a 21 per cent growth in tonnage and a 30 per cent growth in yield. Overall cargo revenue has grown by 57 per cent since this time last year.

James Hogan, Etihad Airways’ Chief Executive Officer, said: “The arrival of our new A330-200 freighter marks a new era in Etihad’s cargo services and will support Etihad’s goal to expand that side of the business further.”

“The aircraft will bring us more payloads, at a reduced operating cost, and will offer us better connectivity in our flight network, with greater transfer flows.”

The Airbus A330-200 freighter aircraft can carry up to 64 metric tonnes of cargo and can fly up to 7,400 kilometres non-stop. It will allow Etihad Crystal Cargo to increase frequencies and build its presence in the high-growth European and Asian freight markets.

Etihad Crystal Cargo will take delivery of a second Airbus A330-200 freighter in October 2010 and the two Airbus A330-200s will join the two leased MD-11 freighters and two leased A300 leased freighters.

Boeing begins fuselage assembly for first 747-8 Intercontinental

Boeing has begun the fuselage assembly of the first 747-8 Intercontinental at the factory in Everett, Washington. Mechanics loaded panels for the 31-foot, 8-inch (9.6 m) long front section of the new 747 airplane into the assembly tool. The panels are part of section 41, the area of the fuselage that houses the flight deck on the upper deck and the forward passenger cabin on the main deck, an area that most airlines typically configure with first class seating.

The Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental is the new, high-capacity 747 that offers airlines the lowest operating costs and best economics of any large passenger airplane while providing enhanced environmental performance. Boeing has 109 orders for the 747-8 — 33 for the 747-8 Intercontinental and 76 for the 747-8 Freighter. The first Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental is scheduled to deliver in late 2011.

Flight-test operations for Boeing 747-8 Freighter move to Southern California

The second Boeing 747-8 Freighter, RC521, landed in Palmdale, California , marking the beginning of a planned transition of 747-8 Freighter testing to Southern California. The more than four-hour flight from Boeing Field in Seattle included testing on avionics and cruise performance.

“Taking the airplane to Palmdale is a big step,” said Mo Yahyavi, vice president and general manager of the 747 program. “The team is focused on ensuring a seamless transition into the next phase of the flight-test program as we prepare to expand testing of the 747-8 Freighter’s performance characteristics.”

The airplane will be stationed in Palmdale for the majority of its scheduled flight-test program. The crew will conduct several tests on the airplane with fuel-mileage and engine-performance testing as key focus areas.

“Palmdale provides an excellent test environment for the 747-8 Freighter,” said Andy Hammer, 747 test program manager. “It allows us to take full advantage of one of the world’s premier experimental test flight facilities and the excellent weather conditions to meet our flight-test requirements on the road to obtaining our amended type certification.”

A contingent of employees has been stationed at Palmdale for the testing, including flight-test engineers and the support personnel who prepare the airplane for each day’s flights. In the coming weeks, the two other 747-8 airplanes in the flight-test fleet will join RC521 in Southern California.

The entire flight-test program calls for the three airplanes to perform a total of about 3,700 hours of ground and air testing. The first 747-8 Freighter delivery to Cargolux is planned for the fourth quarter of this year.

Malaysia Airlines orders 25 passenger and freighter Airbus A330 aircraft

Malaysia Airlines has this week ordered up to 25 Airbus A330-300 widebody aircraft covering the firm order of 15 Airbus A330-300 with options for another 10. This follows the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with Airbus in December last year.

In addition, the airline has also placed new orders for up to 4 Airbus A330-200F freighters comprising two firm orders and another 2 options.

Deliveries of the passenger aircraft will begin in the first half of 2011, with the first Airbus freighter joining the MASkargo fleet in September 2011.

Seating 283 passengers in a high comfort two class layout, the Airbus A330-300 will become the mainstay of the carrier’s medium haul passenger fleet and will be used on services to destinations across the Asia-Pacific region, as well as to the Middle East. In the freight market, MASkargo will fly the aircraft on sectors of up to 3,200 nautical miles, with the capability to carry payloads of almost 70 tonnes.

“The Airbus A330s complements the other aircraft orders under our fleet modernization plan. The ability to add capacity will enable us to offer more frequencies to key destinations and fly to new destinations. This strategy complements our continuous investment in people, systems as well as infrastructure, and positions us in high gear for growth,” said Malaysia Airlines Managing Director/CEO, Azmil Zahruddin.

“On the cargo side, the new freighters will enable us to better serve the intra Asia route, and offer direct services to Europe from India and Bangladesh. This complements our expansion plans in China, and will strengthen our position us as a key niche player in the region,” said Azmil.

By 2015, Malaysia Airlines expects to have one of the youngest, most fuel efficient and environmentally friendly fleets in Asia.

In preparation to add capacity with the availability of new aircraft, Malaysia Airlines has been simulating demand by adding new frequencies which began on the 28th March 2010. These include offering 7 flights weekly from Kuala Lumpur to Paris, 5 weekly flights to Auckland and 10 weekly flights to Perth. There are also new twice weekly direct flights to Brisbane via Kuala Lumpur.

The national carrier is also expected to announce new destinations beginning second quarter of the year.

“The latest order from Malaysia Airlines underscores the position of the Airbus A330 family as the most efficient and versatile product line in its class,” said John Leahy, Airbus Chief Operating Officer, Customers.
“In addition to the proven reliability and low operating costs of the passenger aircraft, the MAS group will also be one of the first airlines to benefit from the new levels of efficiency coming to the freight market with the Airbus A330-200F,” he said.

Malaysia Airlines is a long-standing customer of Airbus and currently operates 14 A330s, comprising 11 A330-300s and three long range A330-200s.

Third Boeing 747-8 Freighter joins flight test

The third Boeing 747-8 Freighter, RC 521, successfully completed its first flight today. It is the final test airplane scheduled to participate in the flight-test program for the 747-8 Freighter.

Piloted by Captains Paul Stemer and Keith Otsuka, with Ralph Chaffin serving as systems operator, RC 521 took off from Paine Field in Everett, Wash., completed a two-and-a-half-hour flight and landed at Boeing Field in Seattle. The airplane reached an altitude of 30,000 feet (9,144 m) and an airspeed of 245 knots, or about 282 miles (454 km) per hour. It took off at 3:27 p.m. PDT and landed at 5:58 p.m.

RC 521 has several tests scheduled in the test program, including fuel-mileage testing. The 747-8 Freighter flight-test program calls for all three airplanes to perform approximately 3,700 hours of testing both on the ground and in the air. The first 747-8 Freighter delivery is planned for the fourth quarter of this year.

Second Boeing 747-8 Freighter completes first flight

A second Boeing 747-8 Freighter, RC 522, successfully completed its first flight Sunday evening. The aircraft took off from Paine Field in Everett, Washington, for a two-and-a-half-hour flight and landed at Boeing Field in Seattle.

Captain Kirk Vining was at the controls for the flight, with Rick Braun operating as co-pilot and Joel Conard serving as systems operator. The aircraft reached an altitude of 27,000 feet (8,230 m) and an airspeed of 240 knots, or about 276 miles (444 km) per hour. It took off at 3:57 p.m. PDT and landed at 6:25 p.m.

“The airplane performed well on its first flight,” said Andy Hammer, test program manager for the Boeing 747-8. “It was a good start to a demanding flight-test program for this airplane.”

This is the second of three 747-8 Freighters being used in the flight-test program. Each aircraft will be used for a specific set of tests, with this aircraft focusing on community noise, environmental control systems and extended operation performance standards.

The aircraft will begin its flight-test program at Boeing Field before transitioning to Palmdale, California.