Boeing Delivers AirBridgeCargo Airlines’ Fifth 747-8 Freighter

MOSCOW – Boeing [NYSE: BA]  and AirBridgeCargo Airlines (ABC), part of Volga-Dnepr Group and Russia’s largest cargo airline, recently celebrated the delivery of the airline’s fifth 747-8 Freighter.
"AirBridgeCargo has already experienced the outstanding payload and operating economics of the 747-8 family,” said Denis Ilin, executive president of AirBridgeCargo Airlines. “We are very excited to receive our fifth 747-8 Freighter.”

Boeing [NYSE: BA]  and AirBridgeCargo Airlines (ABC), part of Volga-Dnepr Group and Russia’s largest cargo airline, recently celebrated the delivery of the airline’s fifth 747-8 Freighter.

With delivery of the fifth 747-8 Freighter, AirBridgeCargo continues to follow its long-term fleet modernization strategy to further improve the quality of its products. The new aircraft will be used on ABC’s existing route network linking Europe, Asia and the United States via the airline’s hub in Moscow.

“AirBridgeCargo is a valued customer that has built a very successful cargo business using 747 Freighters,” said Marty Bentrott, vice president of sales for Middle East, Russia and Central Asia, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. “We are proud of our partnership with AirBridgeCargo, and we are confident they will continue to grow their business successfully as their fleet expands."

AirBridgeCargo’s current fleet consists of 12 Boeing 747s, including five Boeing 747-400ERFs (Extended Range Freighters), three Boeing 747-400 Freighters and five Boeing 747-8 Freighters.


The new 747-8 Freighter gives cargo operators the lowest operating costs and best economics of any large freighter airplane while providing enhanced environmental performance. It is optimized to provide greater revenue cargo-carrying capability than the 747-400, offering 16 percent more cargo volume while keeping its iconic nose door. With more than 150,000 hours in service, the 747-8 Freighter is achieving performance milestones with customers reporting 1 percent better fuel burn than expected.


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A new operational life for “mature” A330s as converted freighters

Increasing Useful Life of older A330

Airbus will expand its freighter family portfolio with the A330P2F conversion, modifying A330s that have completed their useful operational service as passenger jetliners for new careers as cargo aircraft.

This conversion program, unveiled during the Singapore Airshow, brings together the resources of Airbus, its EADS EFW sister company within the EADS group, and ST Aerospace of Singapore.

Both A330-200 and A330-300 versions of Airbus’ twin-engine jetliner will be eligible for the P2F (passenger-to-freighter) conversion, meeting the expected demand for modern, efficient and highly capable mid-sized cargo aircraft.  They are to complement Airbus’ A330-200F freighters, which are new-production jetliners that also respond to the requirements of this cargo market segment.

“Both the A330-200F and A330P2F will play a key role in this market segment, as the A330 has established itself as the most popular platform in the mid-sized wide-body category,” explained Andreas Hermann, Vice President - Freighters at Airbus.  “The A330P2F addresses a different price-point and end-users, based on different operational requirements.”

He said the market already has proven it can support both new-production freighters and converted freighter products using the same aircraft platform as the basis – if the platform is right.  “We believe the A330 is one such platform, and we expect it will enjoy strong demand in both products.”

The A330 first entered service in 1994.  Nearly 1,200 aircraft have been ordered, with almost 850 delivered to date.

Airbus Media