The Freighter wish - B777-300ERSF !
At this years' World Aviation Festival, Emirate’s CEO, Tim Clark, reveals that the carrier is “looking very seriously” to convert some of its passenger B777s into freight-only aircraft.
The allure is strong ! There is a demand for cargo planes , Pandemic has registered a prolonged boom in air cargo (freighter) domain . In February 2021, after an year of pandemic started, air cargo rates were still 10% above 2019 levels.
Speaking about increased rates of air cargo Tim Clark said that,
“freighters will continue to be high as long as the pandemic remains in place, that’s the paradox of this situation”.
However, he predicted that going forward it was possible that freight prices could rise, due to a reduced widebody aircraft capacity, as a consequence of airlines retiring and evening “cutting up” their old widebody aircraft.
He added , Emirates is looking to convert
“number of 777-300ers… which are coming up to the end of their passenger lives. We’re looking at retaining those and basically converting them into freighters.”
Tim Clark also said that, B777-300ers performance and capabilities that as cargo carriers,
“they would fit into our network very well”. The CEO also stated how lucky airlines were that there had been a high demand for air cargo, which has provided many airlines with a vital revenue stream during the pandemic.
Emirates could run out of money within 6-8 months , say CEO Tim Clark , he also insists that Emirates is in a good economic position, and that everything is dependent on markets recovering, Tim Clark did not rule out asking the UAE for an injection of equity.
He also stressed that the airline’s balance sheets are pretty strong, so the airline could wish for more debt if need arises !
The CEO was skeptical about international travel resume !
“progressively more difficult to be able to forecast what countries are going to open, under what set of rules”. He went on to state that Emirates had originally thought that by April or May of this year, the market would start to see an uptick in demand.
Rival Qatar Airways might not like the idea , but Tim Clark said that Emirates will
“retain A380s for as long as we can”. Stating that the aircraft would be flying with Emirates until at least the 2030s.
