China Airlines (CAL, 華航), Taiwan's leading air carrier, took delivery of its 17th Boeing 747-400 freighter yesterday and will immediately phase out its MD-11 cargo plane, the only MD freighter in its cargo fleet, according to a CAL official.
After today's phaseout of the MD-11, the fleet will be flying only B747-400 freighters, the official noted.
It is the second of three B747-400 freighters that CAL plans to introduce this year and CAL expects that by the end of the year, it will be operating a fleet of 18 all-cargo 747-400Fs, making it the world's largest operator of this aircraft type, the official added.
The new 747-400F will replace the MD-11 on the Taiwan-North America route, with the number of round-trip freighter flights increased to 35 from 33 per week, according to the official.
The fact that the Boeing freighter enjoys a cargo capacity 37 percent larger than that of the MD-11 will also help the company meet the expanding cargo demand, CAL said.
In the first four months of this year, CAL earned NT$13.67 billion (US$436.57 million) in cargo revenue, marking 11.5 percent growth over the same period of last year, the official said.
As of the end of May, CAL owned a total of 64 planes, including 47 passenger aircraft. Its international cargo capacity was ranked the seventh-largest in the world, according to statistics of the International Air Transport Association.
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