Cathay Pacific Eyes on Boeing 777-8F Order

According to reliable sources, Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. is about to place a $2 billion order for Boeing 777-8F freighters as the Hong Kong airline begins a partial fleet renewal of its fleet of dedicated 747 cargo planes.

The decision came after a protracted competition between the future Boeing 777X jet family’s all-freight variant and the impending cargo variant of the existing Airbus A350 for one of the top five freight airlines in the world. According to industry sources, the competition required the initial acquisition of about 12 aircraft, totaling about $2 billion at list prices before customary airline reductions.

Cathay Pacific finalises order for 32 A321neo aircraft(Opens in a new browser tab)

There was no immediate announcement to be made, according to Cathay Pacific. “We continue to invest in and grow our fleet with the addition of new, cutting-edge and fuel-efficient aircraft,” a Cathay representative told Reuters. “At this time, we don’t have any specific updates or fleet-related announcements to make.”

In January 2022, six months after Airbus started working on the A350 Freighter in an effort to loosen its hold on the market for freighters, Boeing introduced the 777-8F freighter with an order from Qatar Airways.

Cathay Pacific informed analysts in November of last year that it was considering expanding its freighter capacity and was “actively” negotiating with manufacturers to purchase some of the next freighters after 2025.