Boeing has sold a further four 747-8 freighter aircraft to US-based Atlas Air. These aircraft will be the last ones to leave the factory in Everett before the 747 production line closes in 2022.
This unexpected new order comes after Boeing in July 2020 already announced the conclusion of 747 production. It was not immediately clear whether this affects an existing order of UPS Airlines. If not, the announcement increases the remaining backlog for the type from eight aircraft to twelve, with the other eight all going to UPS.
The four Atlas Air aircraft are set to be delivered in 2022 as the last-ever newly newly built 747s. Atlas says it has ordered these aircraft as a result of “strong demand” in the US cargo market.
Atlas Air already operates the current world’s largest fleet of Boeing 747 family aircraft, consisting of 55 aircraft in both passenger and cargo configurations. While large parts of its fleet are regularly operating for US government agencies, Atlas also offers charter flights and wet leases to other airlines. It is currently unknown whether these new aircraft will be operated under the Atlas Air brand or on behalf of another airline.
The Boeing 747-8F is the cargo version of the 747-8 Intercontinental and was first delivered in 2011 to Luxembourg-based Cargolux. Since then, a total of 95 747-8F have been delivered to numerous airlines.
Jan-Hendrik is an aviation enthusiast from Germany, loves to travel the world and fly on as many aircraft as possible. His first flight was with a Condor 757 to Spain and has been interested in aviation ever since. His fields of expertise are aircraft accidents and passenger experience (PaxEx).
