Ethiopian Airlines has ordered ten long-haul freighters from Boeing with a catalogue value of about $5bn (R81.7bn), according to Capital Ethiopia. The deal, signed in Addis Ababa on 30 September, makes the state-owned carrier the first African airline to buy the 777-8 Freighter, the cargo version of Boeing’s delayed 777X family.
The order is for eight 777-8Fs and two current-generation 777Fs. Group chief executive Mesfin Tasew said the airline would also acquire four Boeing 777 passenger jets converted into freighters. The actual price was not disclosed, since airlines usually negotiate discounts on list prices.
The two 777Fs, due in 2027 and 2028, will add capacity while Ethiopian waits for the newer model. Capital Ethiopia reported that the 777-8Fs are scheduled for delivery between 2033 and 2035. In its latest quarterly filing, Boeing said it expects to deliver the first 777-8F about two years after the first 777-9 passenger jet. It now expects that first 777-9 delivery in 2027, seven years later than originally planned.
| Order component | Units | Expected delivery |
|---|---|---|
| Boeing 777F | 2 | 2027 and 2028 |
| Boeing 777-8F | 8 | 2033 to 2035 |
| Converted 777 passenger freighters | 4 | Not disclosed |
| Existing 777F fleet | 12 | In service |
| Catalogue value of Boeing order | About $5bn (R81.7bn) | – |
Ethiopian already flies 12 777Fs and is Africa’s largest airline by revenue and fleet size. Brad McMullen, Boeing’s head of commercial sales, said one of those freighters was the most heavily used aircraft in Boeing’s worldwide fleet last year.
Cargo has been a main source of growth. In the financial year to 7 July, Ethiopian’s revenue rose 20% to $9.1bn (R148.6bn), passenger numbers grew 10% to 20.7m and cargo volumes increased 16% to 897,000 tonnes. The airline said flight cancellations linked to the Middle East conflict and the Ebola outbreak in the DRC weighed on results. Its Vision 2035 strategy targets 3m tonnes of cargo, 65m passengers and $25bn (R408.3bn) in annual revenue by 2035.
The order comes as African carriers add freight capacity faster than demand. IATA data show African airlines’ cargo demand rose 3% year on year in August while capacity grew 14%, the fastest of any region. That cut their load factor by 3.9 percentage points to 36.5%. The Africa-Asia trade lane shrank 11.9%, its third consecutive monthly decline.
Over January to August, however, African cargo demand grew 8.5%, ahead of every other region, according to Africa Briefing’s analysis of IATA figures. African carriers hold 2.1% of the global air cargo market. Costs have also risen, with jet fuel reaching $157 (R2,564) a barrel in August, up 79% from a year earlier.
Ethiopian has placed several orders this year, including six more 787-9s in April. In June it said it would decide within three months on an order for 25 smaller jets for its local network. It is also helping fund a $12.5bn (R204.1bn) airport at Bishoftu, which officials say will be Africa’s largest, with phase one due to open in 2030.