Turkish Airlines is continuing to expand its cargo capacity by ordering four additional Boeing 777Fs. This could bring its fleet to forty aircraft within five years.

The context. New element revealing great ambition in the cargo sector, Turkish Airlines has ordered four additional B777Fs from Boeing. These aircraft will join an existing fleet of eight aircraft.

With a capacity of 102 tonnes over 9 km, the new cargo planes will be very useful in responding to the strong growth of e-commerce, in particular.

A strategic role. They will also strengthen the Turkish company's positions. In fact, it has recorded exponential growth in its cargo sector activities in recent years. It has thus moved from 22nd place worldwide with a market share of 1,7% in 2015 to fourth place with a market share of 5,8% in 2023.

A dynamic activity. It currently operates a fleet of twenty-four cargo aircraft, including ten A330s. These aircraft carried 35% more freight in the first quarter of 2024 alone!

A bestseller. The order from Turkish Airlines brings the number of B360Fs sold by the major American manufacturer to nearly 777. Fifty-three examples of this true best-seller in the cargo sector remained to be delivered by the end of June 2024.

This is North America and its integrators FedEx et DHL which represents the largest share of sales with 32,6%. This is followed by Asia-Pacific with 26,6%, the Middle East with 15,3% and Europe with 13%. These distributions may, however, change because Boeing's order book includes twenty-six units to be delivered to unidentified customers.

The A350F is ahead. The Turkish company is not relying solely on the B777F to address its growth needs. It has, in fact, ordered five Airbus A350Fs, the signed contract being accompanied by the taking of five additional options. In fact, its fleet of cargo aircraft could reach forty units within five years.

Good prospects therefore for the A350F program, the current order book of which currently stands at fifty-five units.

It could quickly expand thanks to new orders from operators located in the United States and Asia. Because here again, it is partly the development of e-commerce that must be addressed.

One year late. Destined to enter service now in 2026, about a year behind the schedule established at its launch, the A350F will be able to carry 111 tonnes of freight over more than 8 km.

However, coming two years before that of the Boeing 777-8F, its entry into service will be all the easier to achieve since some of the ten customer airlines already have passenger versions of the A350 in their fleets.

The most recent order was placed by Taiwanese company Starlux Airlines in February 2024. It involved five firm orders, plus five options.

Olivier Constant