Emirates has just taken delivery of a Boeing 747-400 freighter providing cargo customers with an extra 120 tons of capacity and providing the airline with a freighter fleet of three Boeing 747s.
Emirates SkyCargo now operates two Boeing 747-400s with capacity for 120 tons and a Boeing 747-200 with capacity for 110 tons. They boost Emirates SkyCargo's core capacity, which lies in its wide-bodied jets.
The company’s aircraft have also enabled the division to open cargo-only routes to Amsterdam, Liege, Shanghai, Bangalore and Taipei, with more planned, as Emirates SkyCargo develops its freighter services on busy trade routes. The freighters also serve Hong Kong, Bangkok, Singapore, Dusseldorf, Dhaka and Kuwait, which are Emirates passenger destinations also.
The airlines entire fleet is widebodied with the Airbus A330 the smallest aircraft now operated. With capacity for 13 to 15 tons of cargo plus a full passenger load, the A330 can carry more cargo than the Boeing 737 freighter. The arrival in 2008 of two Airbus A380-800 freighters will mark a sea change as the super jumbo freighters will then add core cargo capacity to the Airbus fleet.
In addition to the new freighter, Emirates also has taken delivery recently of two more Airbus A330-200 passengers jets, which have increased the total Emirates fleet to 51 aircraft which have a list price of $7.2 billion.
In November 2001, Emirates announced massive new aircraft orders totalling $15 billion, building to a fleet of more than 100 aircraft by 2010. Deliveries have maintained a steady pace since that announcement. Now, Emirates is on track to add a total of 13 new aircraft to its fleet in 2003 alone. — (menareport.com)
© 2003 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
