Air France welcomes first Boeing 777 freighter

Air France has welcomed the arrival of its first Boeing 777 freighter, registered under F-GUOC. Air France has ordered five of these aircraft to replace its 747 freighters.

Equipped with state-of-the-art technology and the latest generation engines, the Boeing 777 freighter has achieved outstanding energy and environmental performances for its category. Fuel consumption is 18% less than that of the Boeing 747, which translates into an identical reduction of carbon gas emissions. Its second-generation GE90-110 engines also meet the toughest regulatory noise standards.

“With the arrival of this new generation aircraft, Air France Cargo will have a state-of-the-art fleet made up of Boeing 777 freighters and 747-400 ERFs, enabling us to better meet our customers’ needs”, stated Florence Parly, Deputy Executive Vice President Air France Cargo.

With the same standards as the Boeing 777 family of aircraft, of which Air France is already operating 51, the Boeing 777 freighter will enable the airline to achieve economies of scale. For example, the Boeing 777 passenger or freighter aircraft can be flown by the same flight deck crews and for the most part use the same spare parts.

“Thanks to its outstanding performance, the Boeing 777 freighter boasts the lowest operating cost per ATK (available tonne-km) and the best cost per segment on the market, which will boost our competitiveness. In addition, its fuel-efficiency fully complies with our environmental objectives” underlined Pierre Vellay, Vice President for New Aircraft & Fleet Planning. “The arrival of the Boeing 777 freighter represents the next step in our ongoing policy of upgrading our fleet”.

With a full payload of 103 tonnes, able to carry a total of 37 pallets, equipped with a deck that can accommodate 3-metre pallets and a wide side door, the Boeing 777 freighter is able to carry the same type of freight as the Boeing 747 over equivalent distances.