Headwinds and tailwinds in freighter market domination

With cargo demand expected to continue strongly in 2022 and further, the race for production freighters is heating up. And for the first time the American jet maker, Boeing, is being challenged by its European rival, Airbus, in the freighter market domination. And the competition to win orders for the proposed new production freighter models from both Airbus and Boeing is swiftly taking off.

Last year Airbus introduced the A350 freighter, a large twin-engine widebody freighter to shape the future of airfreight with the capability to transport a cargo of some 109 tonnes. Based on the top-selling clean-sheet design A350, the A350F leverages all the benefits of the A350 to help large widebody freight operators make a clean start towards a more sustainable and profitable future.

The A350 family of aircraft benefits from cutting-edge aerodynamics, optimised from nose-to-tail and wingtip-to-wingtip. And to top it the A350 freighter brings latest-generation efficiency and choice to the large freighter market. The structure uses over 70 percent advanced materials such as composites, titanium and modern aluminium alloys to create a lighter and more cost-efficient aircraft, while increasing resistance to corrosion and reducing maintenance requirements.

At the Dubai Airshow last year Airbus secured the first commitment for the A350 freighter derivative. Air Lease Corporation signed a commitment with the European plane maker that included order for seven A350Fs.

Interestingly, the Dubai order for Airbus freighters was quickly followed by a firm order for four freighters from CMA CGM AIRCARGO, the new cargo airline from the French container transportation and shipping company CMA CGM. With this order the French cargo airline will have a total Airbus fleet of nine aircraft, including four A330-200Fs and one A330-200 to be converted into a freighter. In September last year it had also placed an order for two Boeing 777 freighters.

With two orders already in place, Airbus was really upping its game for freighters and was challenging the freighter market domination by its American rival. And in December 2021, Singapore Airlines signed a letter of intent with Airbus for seven A350 freighter aircraft. The Airbus freighter is expected to enter service in 2025. That is two years before what Boeing proposes to make its new freighter enter service.

"We are honoured by Singapore Airlines' vote of confidence in the A350F as it renews its freighter fleet. The A350F is the world's all-new large freighter and will be unmatched in its market segment in terms of operational efficiency, lower fuel consumption and CO₂ savings," said Christian Scherer, Airbus Chief Commercial Officer and Head of Airbus International.

In the same month Airbus secured another order for four of its new freighters from Air France-KLM and purchase rights for an additional four aircraft.

As part of the world's most modern long-range family, the A350F will have a high level of commonality with the A350 passenger versions. With a 109 tonne payload capability, the A350F will serve all cargo markets. The aircraft features a large main deck cargo door, with its fuselage length and capacity optimised around the industry's standard pallets and containers.

"We certainly push Boeing hard to deliver upon our expectations, and the team at Boeing consistently strives to meet and exceed our expectations, giving the opportunity for us to be here today to launch the most significant new freighter aircraft for a generation."
Akbar Al Baker, Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive

At the Dubai Airshow Boeing brought the 777-9 test aircraft of the Boeing 777X family for its international debut. The same will be at display at Singapore Airshow later this month. First delivery of the airplane is expected in late 2023. Reports do suggest that with the pandemic not coming to an end soon the first delivery could be delayed at least by a year. This means that the proposed freighter version of the 777X, for which Boeing has the world's largest cargo carrier, Qatar Airways, as its launch customer, could also be delayed from the original 2027 commercial entry.

Boeing claims that the latest freighter delivers the right payload capacity and range capability along with superior economics. Boeing claims that the 777-8F is built on the worldwide success of the best-selling 777F and the yet to be commercially launched 777X passenger jets. The plane maker believes that the highest payload and long-range capability will open new markets and eventually new customers. With a revenue payload of 112.3 tonnes and range of 8,167 kilometres the new Boeing freighter offers the lowest operating cost per tonne for more profit.

Boeing also made sure that the announcement of the launch customer for the new freighter was as spectacular as possible and the aviation industry, particularly its European rival, took notice of it. Boeing chose White House to make the announcement in the presence top US and Qatar government officials. The deal was signed by Boeing Commercial Airplanes president and CEO Stan Deal and Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, Akbar Al Baker. Al Baker reaffirmed the airline's commitment to the 777X family with the record-breaking 777-8 freighter deal. First delivery of the new freighter is anticipated in 2027.

"Today marks a great day in the ever-building and strong relationship between Qatar Airways and Boeing. We certainly push Boeing hard to deliver upon our expectations, and the team at Boeing consistently strives to meet and exceed our expectations, giving the opportunity for us to be here today to launch the most significant new freighter aircraft for a generation," said Al Baker.

"The A350F is the world's all-new large freighter and will be unmatched in its market segment in terms of operational efficiency, lower fuel consumption and CO₂ savings."
Christian Scherer, Airbus

The White House signing in ceremony grabbed headlines because it was right in the midst of a bitter court battle involving Qatar Airways and Airbus over flaking paint and the corrosion of the fuselage of A350 aircraft. Airbus recommended the jet be sent to its main facility in Toulouse, France, for further investigation, while maintaining that the model was safe to fly. However, Qatar Airways said Airbus failed to provide a full root-cause analysis needed to satisfy unresolved questions over the airworthiness of the affected jets, including the lightning protection system.

The dispute took an ugly turn when the carrier made public a video on social media of the scarred exterior of grounded A350 jets. Qatar Airways is pressing for compensation of $618m plus $4m a day and has stopped the receipt of 23 more A350s. Its legal case detailed how the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority (QCAA) had started withdrawing flying permits for individual A350 planes in a series of letters from June 2021. It said the QCAA told Airbus the aeroplane's deterioration was "disturbing, if not alarming".

Airbus, in turn, said that it will fight the claim, saying there is "no reasonable or rational basis" for the groundings. What followed was even more bizarre in the aviation history. Airbus cancelled a $6bn contract with Qatar Airways for 50 of its new A321neo passenger jets, escalating the legal battle.

Air cargo industry observers claim that Airbus "finally has produced a proper freighter". However, going by Boeing's track records and the other B777 variants, people do expect that B777-8F to be a good freighter.

"The A350F has definitely raised the bar in terms of operating economics. I am sure the B77-8F will match or do better (performance comparison yet to be seen). Airbus seems to have a running advantage as it enters service well ahead of Boeing's. Given the current skirmish between QR (Qatar Airways) and Airbus, it is quite understandable that they have gone with Boeing. It is quite an aggressive order and since the B77-8F only enters service in 2027, a lot of the new orders could be replacement of the existing older fleet," said Ram Menen, retired air cargo and aviation executive and former head of cargo at Emirates.

Also Read:Qatar Airways Cargo retires all remaining four A330 freighters from its fleet

Qatar Airways had in its fleet five Airbus A330-200 freighters. As on January 31, 2021, the world's largest cargo carrier removed all its Airbus freighters to maintain an all Boeing freighter fleet. In an earlier interview to STAT Media Group, Guillaume Halleux, chief officer cargo, Qatar Airways, had indicated the carrier's intention to keep a homogenous fleet.

"We made no secret from the beginning that the order of five B777 freighters placed at the Paris Airshow in 2019 was to replace and phase out A330 freighters. This is part of streamlining our freighter fleet and going in for a homogenous fleet for very obvious reasons of optimisation and synergy," the chief officer cargo had said a year ago.