EUROPE’S FREIGHTER FORCE

Airbus delivered around 66 commercial aircraft to 84 customers in 2022 and registered 1,078 gross new orders. Airbus’ backlog in builds at the end of December 2022 stood at 7,239 aircraft. Included in these totals are a number of production freighter aircraft.

With the all-new A350F still in the development phase in 2022, deliveries were dominated by conversion freighters via Airbus’ partner EFW. Airbus saw 19 deliveries in 2022.

“In 2022 we served 84 customers with 661 deliveries, an increase of 8% compared to 2021. That’s obviously less than we were targeting but given the complexity of the operating environment I want to thank the teams and our partners for the hard work and the ultimate result,” said Guillaume Faury, Airbus chief executive officer. “The significant order intake covering all our aircraft families including freighters, reflects the strength and competitiveness of our product line. We continue our ramp-up trajectory to deliver on our backlog.”

What would Airbus use as a sales pitch for a customer uncertain as to acquire a production freighter instead of a conversion?

“Of course, a production freighter has its advantages as being a clean sheet design optimised from the beginning for the transport of cargo and not needing to take into account the needs of fare paying passengers. This starts with the structure - a simple example is the windows but beyond that we are looking at things like floor structure and higher running loads windows as an example. In addition systems such as the ECS can be highly optimised for the carriage of perishables and animals,” says the company.

Airbus believes the demand for freighter aircraft is linked to the air cargo traffic evolution. Typically, air cargo traffic is driven by international trade, industrial production, and the consumer demand for goods. Based on these drivers, we forecast that air cargo traffic will increase by 3.2% per year over 2019-2041. Freighter aircraft will be required to satisfy this demand.

Freighter activity

As the New Year began, more evidence of the importance of freighter manufacture to the European planemaker saw the Air France-KLM Group place a firm order for four A350Fs, the brand new Airbus widebody freighter, to be operated by Martinair Holland, a Dutch cargo airline headquartered and based in Amsterdam Schiphol airport and part of KLM Group. The A350Fs will allow the airline to retire its existing older generation freighters and replace them with a clean sheet cargo aircraft that offers a big step towards more sustainable cargo operations.

“We are delighted to make this major step forward to the A350F. It accelerates Air France KLM Martinair Cargo sustainability ambitions with significant improvement on fuel emissions and complying with most stringent ICAO Chapter 14 for noise and CAEP 8 for NOx. We are fit for the future!” said Adriaan den Heijer, Executive Vice President Air France KLM Cargo and Managing Director Martinair.

The A350F is based on the world’s most modern long range leader, the A350. The aircraft will feature the largest main deck cargo door and a fuselage length optimised for cargo operations. Over 70% of the airframe is made of advanced materials resulting in a minimum 30 tonnes lighter take-off weight, which together with efficient RollsRoyce engines generate an advantage of at least 20% lower fuel burn and CO2 emission over its current closest competitor.

Last summer, Etihad Airways firmed up its order with Airbus for seven new generation A350F freighters, following its earlier commitment announced at the Singapore Airshow. The freighters will upgrade Etihad’s freight capacity by deploying the most efficient cargo aircraft available in the market.

Tony Douglas, Group CEO Etihad Aviation Group, said: “In building one of the world’s youngest and most sustainable fleets, we are delighted to extend our long-term partnership with Airbus to add the A350 Freighter to our fleet. This additional cargo capacity will support the unprecedented growth we are experiencing in the Etihad Cargo division. Airbus has developed a remarkable fuel-efficient aircraft that, in tandem with the A350-1000 in our passenger fleet, supports our commitment to reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.”

Is Airbus looking to develop electric freighters at all? It is following several ways towards decarbonisation. One element is fleet modernisation e.g. by A330P2F or A350F replacing older aircraft such as 767SF and 747F. In addition, more optimised operations support in saving fuel.

For the future, SAF and Hydrogen both will play a key role when it comes to large freighters. As of today, Airbus aircraft are able to fly with 50% SAF, certification for 100% SAF is ongoing. In addition, Airbus is working with its ZEROe-project on the development of a hydrogen-powered aircraft which should enter service in 2035.

Airbus is exploring autonomous technologies, systems and solutions, as part of a wide analysis on the potential of different technological bricks / tech innovations to further improve aircraft safety while ensuring today’s unprecedented levels are maintained as well as to enhance future operations.