On December 8, Airbus announced that Cathay Group ordered six A350Fs. The aircraft will be replacing Cathay Pacific Cargo’s aging Boeing 747 freighters.
Continue reading to learn more about the order and Cathay Pacific Cargo’s fleet.
Cathay Group Orders Six Airbus A350Fs
Currently, Cathay Pacific Cargo operates 20 Boeing 747 freighters including six 747-400ERFs and 14 747-8Fs. The six Airbus A350Fs that Cathay Group ordered on December 8, 2023, will replace the six 747-400ERFs one-to-one. These aircraft were made in 2008 and 2009 and are older than the 747-8Fs which were mostly built in the early 2010s.
The Airbus A350F is a variant of the A350 based on the longer passenger A350-1000 that is still under development. It is expected to have the ability to carry up to 111 tons of payload for up to 4,700 nautical miles. For comparison, the Boeing 747-400ERF which the A350F will be replacing can carry about 124 tons and has a range of nearly 5,000 miles.
With Cathay Pacific already operating nearly 50 passenger A350s (both A350-900s and A350-1000s), the A350F will “fit seamlessly” into the airline’s fleet as remarked by Christian Scherer, Airbus Chief Commercial Officer and Head of International. The airline will be able to share the same pool of pilots between the passenger and freighter variants.
Additionally, the A350F will also lower Cathay Pacific Cargo’s operating costs due to being more fuel efficient.
Cathay Pacific Cargo A350Fs’ Delivery Timeframe Is Not Clear
As mentioned above, the A350F is a new variant of the A350 that has still not been fully developed. While currently Airbus plans to deliver the first airframes sometime in 2026, that schedule could slip due to development delays.
The A350Fs launch customer is expected to be Singapore Airlines Cargo. Other companies including Air Lease Corporation have ordered the A350F before the Cathay Group too. As such, while no specific timeline was provided for Cathay Group’s A350Fs, it is unlikely they will be delivered to the airline before 2027 or 2028, if not later.
Given that its 747-400ERFs are, at less than 15 years, among the younger 747s in service, though, the airline should not be in too much of a rush to get the new airframes delivered.
Summary
While such rumors have been floating around for a while now, on December 8, 2023, Airbus finally announced that Cathay Pacific placed an order for its upcoming A350F freighter. The airline placed an order for six airframes which will replace its aging 747-400ERFs one-to-one.
It is not clear exactly when the aircraft will be delivered. That said, with the aircraft only expected to enter into service in 2026 and Singapore Airlines being the launch customer, chances are the first delivery is still at least three or four years away.
