“Throughout 2024, we made significant investments in new and leased freighter aircraft to address the evolving supply chain and air cargo demands around the world to ensure we had a stable supply of capacity to best serve our global customers,” says Badr Abbas, Divisional Senior Vice President, Emirates SkyCargo.
“We anticipate that demand will continue to boom, reflecting Dubai’s prominence as a global logistics hub. Enhancing our cargo capabilities is essential to support Dubai’s Economic Agenda, enabling us to reach new destinations, bolster our current operations and elevate our specialist product portfolio.”
The multi-year lease for the Boeing 747s was signed with the Compass Group, one of Emirates SkyCargo’s longstanding and most reliable partners. This investment in additional Boeing 747F capacity enables the airline to unlock immediate capacity to cater to customer demand, while the partners discuss avenues for further expansion of the collaboration.
Emirates SkyCargo’s leasing strategy complements its owned fleet, which continues to grow. In 2024, the airline received two of its new Boeing 777Fs, which immediately entered service, with a focus on the increasing demand of eCommerce shipments from Asian markets.
The additional aircraft also enabled Emirates SkyCargo to expand its network of destinations served by freighters to 38, with the deployment of a weekly freighter to Copenhagen, Denmark.
The Emirates SkyCargo active operating fleet now consists of 10 Boeing 777Fs and six wet-leased Boeing 747s, bringing the aircraft count to 16. The airline also has 13 Boeing 777Fs on order, with expected delivery between 2025 and 2026.