China Airlines Orders Four More Boeing 777 Freighters

(28 Jan 2022)  China Airlines, the fifth largest air cargo carrier in the world, has ordered four more new Boeing 777F (freighters), with deliveries slated to commence in 2023.

Ordering four new aircraft will eventually bring the airline's 777F fleet to ten aircraft in total. This expansion of its 777F fleet, alongside the world’s largest 747F freighter fleet, will boost the already considerable cargo carrying capacity of China Airlines.

China Airlines began taking delivery of six 777F freighters in December 2020. Three have been delivered so far with two more slated for 2022 and one more lined-up in 2023; delivery of the four newly ordered 777F freighters will commence in 2023 and be completed in 2024.

China Airlines Boeing 777F

The 777F is a twin-engine freighter equipped with fully temperature-controlled cargo holds. The main cargo hold can be fitted with cargo pallet restraint systems used for carrying semiconductor machinery and engines, providing high-value cargo such as precision instruments and temperature-controlled goods with optimal carriage services.

China Airlines benefited from the cargo-carrying capacity of its eighteen 747F and three 777F freighters due to the strong demand in the cargo market during to the COVID19 pandemic. Those aircraft, along with the belly hold cargo of passenger aircraft, have had a remarkable impact on the airline's business.

Multiple records were broken in 2021, including sending out over a hundred cargo charter flights in one month, surpassing TWD 15.4 billion in single-month cargo revenues in December, exceeding TWD 10 billion in cargo revenues for five consecutive months, and sweeping past TWD 100 billion in cargo revenues for the entire year.