EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空) on Friday received a new Boeing Co 777F cargo jet, the first delivery of a freight aircraft for the airline in two years.
Prior to taking possession, EVA Airways’ cargo fleet had five Boeing 777F jets that it received in 2019.
The airline expects to take delivery of another two Boeing 777Fs next month and in December, it said in a statement.
Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei Times
EVA last year canceled orders for seven Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner passenger jets, replacing them with orders for three 777F cargo aircraft and four smaller 787-9 passenger jets, as the airline faced low demand for air travel but robust orders for air shipping.
Due to strong cargo demand, EVA currently conducts more than 40 cargo flights a week with its five freight carriers, and operates another 50 cargo flights per week with its 33 passenger jets, with goods loaded in the passenger cabins, it said.
The three new freight aircraft would boost cargo capacity and increase revenue this year, EVA said.
The sixth cargo jet would be utilized for flights to Southeast Asian countries and North America, it said.
With strong demand for transport of new electronic products and mobile devices in the peak season, the company holds an upbeat outlook for its cargo business this quarter, EVA president Clay Sun (孫嘉明) said in the statement.
Airfreight rates are likely to remain high next year due to a tight supply of cargo flights and congestion at the world’s major seaports, Sun said.
The International Air Transport Association has predicted that global air cargo volume for this year is expected to be higher than in 2019, and is projected to grow 4.9 percent year-on-year next year, EVA said.
The Boeing 777F is the largest twin-engine, energy-efficient freighter, and as the aircraft has identical engine specifications as the Boeing 777-300ER, of which EVA has 34, the airline could reduce its maintenance costs and boost maintenance efficiency with the consistent fleet, it said.
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