Friday, April 11, 2014

Nippon Cargo to fly all-Boeing 747-8F fleet by FY2018.

Nippon Cargo Airlines (KZ/NCA) will phase out the Boeing 747-400F and standardize its fleet on the larger B747-8F by fiscal year 2018, according to Nippon Yusen's Mid-term (five-year) Plan dubbed 'More Than Shipping 2018'. Often simply referred to as 'NYK Line', the Japanese shipping giant owns 99.97% of Japan's sole all-cargo airline.
A Nippon Cargo Boeing 747-8F takes off from Paine Field on a test flight. (Photo: Boeing)

Although the company sees demand for worldwide air freight recovering, they believe an increasing supply of cargo space in the bellies of passenger aircraft is putting pressure on all-freight operations. Plans call for more involvement in freight charters to reduce its dependence on scheduled flights, which currently account for most of their current operations, as well as look for partnerships to bring synergies and add more value. Additional cost-cutting measures will also be implemented.

Nippon Cargo currently operates seven B747-400Fs and five B747-8Fs, with another nine of the latter still on order. Along with Luxembourg-based Cargolux Airlines International (CV/CLX), they were the launch customer for Boeing's newest Jumbo freighter.

Source: Nippon Yusen, March 31st. (PDF; in Japanese)

No comments:

Post a Comment