On December 31st, three Boeing 777 Freighters took off from Everett, Washington, and arrived in Doha, Qatar, on January 1st to mark a somewhat rare triple delivery for Qatar Airways. This recent delivery brings the airline’s total freighter fleet to 30. Very soon, these freighters will be introduced on long-haul scheduled routes and cargo charters.
“We deeply appreciate our long-standing partnership with Qatar Airways and their confidence in the 777 Freighters as the backbone of their expansive global air cargo operations.” -Ihssane Mounir, senior vice president, Commercial Sales and Marketing, Boeing via press release
Delivery flight details
The three 777 freighters, or 777Fs, departed Boeing’s 777 assembly facilities in Everett on December 31st at 12:28, 12:36, and 12:49 local time. The three aircraft are registered as follows:
- A7-BFV (MSN 66340/1658)
- A7-BFW (MSN 66341/1662)
- A7-BFX (MSN 66870/1664)
The flight time was just over 14 hours, and saw the aircraft arrive in Doha on January 1st, just before 14:00, local time.
“With the arrival of these new freighters, we are injecting much needed capacity in the market helping support global supply chains at a critical time during the pandemic. The added capacity will enable us to support the logistics around the COVID-19 vaccination which is projected to be one of the greatest logistical challenges for the industry…With our investments in innovation and fleet, we are able to fulfil our customers’ logistical requirements and support the continuity of global trade.” -His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive
Joining the Qatar Airways Cargo fleet
As mentioned above, the delivery of these three jets brings the airline’s total freighter fleet count to 30 freighters, consisting of two Boeing 747 freighters, 24 Boeing 777 Freighters, and four Airbus A330 freighters.
The Boeing 777 freighters themselves are powered by the General Electric GE90-110B1 and have a revenue payload capability of more than 102 metric tonnes each. According to Boeing, the aircraft can fly 4,970 nautical miles (9,200 kilometers) and carry a full payload of 224,900 lbs (102,010 kgs) at general cargo market densities (more than 10 pounds per cubic foot).
In addition to permanent, purpose-built freighters, Qatar Airways has converted six of its Boeing 777-300ER aircraft to operate cargo-only flights, introducing an additional 137 cubic meters of cargo volume per flight over the lower deck cargo capacity of 156 cubic meters per flight.
Another triple-delivery
While some airlines might opt to take delivery of their new aircraft one at a time, as soon as they’re built, Qatar Airways has chosen triple-deliveries twice this year. In addition to this recent New Year’s Day freighter delivery, the airline accepted three Airbus A350-1000s simultaneously on October 23rd.
With today’s delivery, we continue to operate the largest fleet of A350-1000 aircraft offering our passengers the latest innovations in passenger comfort with the widest seats, widest cabin body and LED mood lighting to reduce the effects of jet lag. https://t.co/6EZ8tupUBI pic.twitter.com/L04JI9LXPr
— Qatar Airways (@qatarairways) October 23, 2020
For this delivery, the airline had to fly the aircraft a longer and more inefficient route, from Toulouse, France through UK airspace. Qatar is leasing the planes from an undisclosed, UK-based lessor. For all financial matters to be in order, the aircraft needed to spend some time in British airspace.
What do you think of these triple-aircraft deliveries? Let us know in the comments.