newstodate.aero
Jun 21, 2011 (newstodate): In contrast to Airbus, Boeing has been successfully marching ahead with its program for a new large freighter alongside its continued development of the Boeing 747 passenger aircraft.
The revamped Boeing 747 Jumbo, the Boeing 747-8 is now increasingly fetching orders, and a total of 126 aircraft have so far been booked for delivery.
No less than 76 of these firm orders are placed on the freighter version, proving the correctness of the assumption that the world requires new large-capacity freighters.
Airbus originally also pinched great hopes on the freighter version of its A380 aircraft and planned for a first delivery by 2007.
A total of 27 A380F were ordered, including 10 for FedEx, two for Emirates SkyCargo, five for IFLC, and 10 for UPS, besides a number of options.
But in 2007 Airbus shelved the A380 freighter program after the sustained production delays caused customers to pull out and opt for Boeing alternatives instead, while Airbus said it wished to focus entirely on production of the passenger version.
While Airbus has delivered cargo versions of its A330 aircraft, it has also recently shelved the Airbus A320 P2F program, again leaving the freighter market to seek other alternatives, primarily with Boeing.
-We admittedly thought an agreement with Airbus was cast in solid iron. So their announcement of shelving the A320 conversion program came as a shock to us, was the reaction from the carrier, West Atlantic that had pinned its strategy on becoming the first operator of the new freighter.
So- is Airbus a friend to the freighter operators?
The revamped Boeing 747 Jumbo, the Boeing 747-8 is now increasingly fetching orders, and a total of 126 aircraft have so far been booked for delivery.
No less than 76 of these firm orders are placed on the freighter version, proving the correctness of the assumption that the world requires new large-capacity freighters.
Airbus originally also pinched great hopes on the freighter version of its A380 aircraft and planned for a first delivery by 2007.
A total of 27 A380F were ordered, including 10 for FedEx, two for Emirates SkyCargo, five for IFLC, and 10 for UPS, besides a number of options.
But in 2007 Airbus shelved the A380 freighter program after the sustained production delays caused customers to pull out and opt for Boeing alternatives instead, while Airbus said it wished to focus entirely on production of the passenger version.
While Airbus has delivered cargo versions of its A330 aircraft, it has also recently shelved the Airbus A320 P2F program, again leaving the freighter market to seek other alternatives, primarily with Boeing.
-We admittedly thought an agreement with Airbus was cast in solid iron. So their announcement of shelving the A320 conversion program came as a shock to us, was the reaction from the carrier, West Atlantic that had pinned its strategy on becoming the first operator of the new freighter.
So- is Airbus a friend to the freighter operators?