Taiwanese carrier doubles 777-freighter commitment while divesting older 747-400F units to support fleet renewal strategy
China Airlines has confirmed to Air Cargo News that it will expand its order for Boeing 777-8F aircraft by four units, while also purchasing four 777Fs.
Earlier this week, the company announced in a stock exchange filing that it had approved an order for four 777-8F aircraft, but it was not clear if this was confirmation of an earlier order or an expansion of that deal.
The airline has since confirmed to Air Cargo News that the aircraft are in addition to the existing order, meaning there are now a total of eight of the model due to join the fleet.
When the carrier placed its initial order for four 777-8Fs in May, Boeing stated that it also had options for four more of the model.
The order is a boost to the Boeing programme, which trails Airbus’ A350F freighter in terms of order numbers.
Including the latest China Airlines deal, Boeing has recorded 63 orders compared with 82 firm orders for the A350F.
The latest order for the Boeing aircraft came in August when Korean Air announced it would purchase eight of the model.
A spokesperson for China Airlines also confirmed that the airline would purchase four Boeing 777Fs.
The new aircraft orders come as the carrier looks to renew its fleet with more modern aircraft.
As well as announcing the order for new freighters, the airline also announced plans to sell four of its older Boeing 747-400 freighters, with two of the units being sold to Cargolux.
The Taiwanese airline says the other two 747-400Fs are “still under commercial negotiation” and transaction terms have yet to be finalised.
At present, China Airlines’ freighter fleet consists of eight 747-400Fs and 10 777Fs, according to its website.
