Azerbaijan's Silk Way West has exercised options for two A350F freighters, completing its planned four-aircraft order as part of its fleet renewal programme
Airbus has secured another order for its A350 freighter aircraft in what has been a busy few weeks for the airframer.
Earlier today at the Dubai Airshow, Airbus confirmed that Caspian freighter airline Silk Way West had exercised an option for two further A350Fs in addition to an existing order for two of the model.
The decision to exercise the options isn’t too much of a surprise as the Baku-hubbed airline has often suggested it would eventually have four of the model in its fleet.
Silk Way West is in the midst of a freighter fleet expansion and modernisation programme that will see it add around one net aircraft to its fleet over the coming years.
The airline plans to jettison its four older Boeing 747-400Fs and now has orders for two Boeing 777Fs due to arrive in 2026/2027, four A350Fs and two 777-8Fs, with options for two more.
Its current fleet is made up of four 777Fs, five 747-8Fs and four 747-400Fs.
"This order, bringing our total commitment to four aircraft, marks a major milestone in our company’s growth and reflects our confidence in the future of sustainable air freight. The A350F will strengthen our leading position in the global air freight market as we continue to modernise our fleet and reduce our carbon footprint,” said Wolfgang Meier, president of Silk Way West Airlines.
Benoît de Saint-Exupéry, Airbus executive vice president of commercial aircraft sales, added: "The A350F will ensure the airline maintains its leading position in the global airfreight market and further enables its key role in developing Azerbaijan as a major global cargo hub at the heart of the Silk Road."
The past few weeks have been a busy period for the A350F programme. As well as the Silk Way options, Etihad placed its long-awaited order for three of the model, on top of an existing order for seven of the aircraft, Air China Cargo had signed a purchase agreement for six A350Fs, MNG Airlines Cargo firmed up an MoU for two, while Korean Air has converted seven of an existing order for A350 passenger aircraft to the freighter model.
Meanwhile, the first of the model continues to take shape. Airbus confirmed earlier this week that it is getting closer to completing its first A350F with the fuselage, wings, tail and landing gear all installed.
The aircraft manufacturer will undertake test flights on two A350F test aircraft to assess operational performance throughout 2026 and early 2027. The company is due to begin delivering the A350F in the second half of 2027.
The A350F features the largest maindeck cargo door in the sector, has a 111-ton capacity and a range of 8,700 km.
At the end of October 2025, the all-new A350F had registered 74 orders from 12 customers.
