Air China Cargo will add three 747-400 BCF

Air China Cargo will add three 747-400 Boeing Converted Freighters (BCF) to its cargo fleet, PR Newswire reported.

The modification work on the three Combi airplanes will take place at Taikoo Aircraft Engineering (TAECO) in Xiamen, China. They previously were operated by Air China.

Air China Cargo currently operates eight freighters, including three 747-400 Freighters delivered new in 2005, 2006 and 2008, as well as two other 747-400 Freighters on lease and three 747-200 Freighters.

Modifications include a side cargo door addition, a strengthened main-deck floor, full main-deck lining installation, provisions for a new cargo handling system and complete revisions to the airplane systems.

Meanwhile, Boeing has set aside US$1 billion dollars to help customers finance orders next year, Dow Jones reported.

Boeing Capital, the company’s finance arm, has worked hard over the past few years to clean up its balance sheet so as to be in a position to offer finance to customers.

Amid further delays to its Dreamliner model, Boeing expects more orders for the long-awaited plane that is tipped to be 20 percent cheaper to operate than previous aircraft of its size.

Boeing is also hoping for orders for other models from Turkish Airline as well as airlines in China, Indonesia and the Middle East.

Boeing admitted that a 57-day strike by machinists, which only ended this week, will cause further delays to the 787 programme - already two years behind schedule.

Meanwhile, Boeing forecast that world air cargo growth will expand at a 5.8 percent annual rate over the next two decades, with worldwide air freight traffic tripling through 2027.

Air cargo traffic will grow over the long term despite current near-term market weakness and worldwide economic uncertainty. The industry has shown strong recoveries from previous economic downturns such as the Asian economic crisis, the 9/11 attacks and the SARS outbreak.

Cargo tends to be at the forefront of increased liberalization of air services, which is a driver of economic growth.

Asian air cargo market growth will continue to lead all global traffic routes. Domestic Chinese and intra-Asian markets will grow 9.9 percent and 8.1 percent per year, respectively. Asia-related markets will experience growth in excess of the global average.

Source:
http://www.aircargonews.net

Tags: 747-400 Boeing, air cargo, Air China Cargo, cargo, china

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 6th, 2008 at 3:21 pm and is filed under Cargo & Shipping News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.