Korean Air has decided to order two new Boeing 747-8 Freighters in a deal valued at approximately $639 million, the companies announced on Friday.
Korean Air Cargo 747-8 Freighter. (Image courtesy of Boeing)
Korean Air was already the first airline to order both the passenger and freight versions of the new 747-8 and, with the new order included, Korean Air now has five 747-8 Intercontinentals and seven 747-8 Freighters on order.
“Korean Air continues to strengthen its reputation as one of the world’s leading global cargo carriers,” said Marlin Dailey, vice president of Sales & Marketing for Boeing Commercial Airplanes, when making the announcement. “Boeing is very fortunate to have Korean Air not only as a customer of the 747-8 Freighter, but also the 747-8 Intercontinental and also as a key partner on the 747-8 program.”
Dailey added that the 747-8 Freighter will provide ‘tremendous economics and reliability’ to Korean Air’s global operations. According to Boeing, the 747-8 has 16 percent more revenue cargo volume than the 747-400 Freighter.
Korean Air currently operates a total of 27 Boeing freighter airplanes and will become one of two airlines to operate both the 747-8 Freighter and the 777 Freighter. The newly announced order is valued at approximately 639 million U.S. dollars at Boeing list prices.
Boeing has secured more than 100 orders for the 747-8, 76 of which are orders for the new freighter. Cargolux, Nippon Cargo Airlines, AirBridgeCargo Airlines, Atlas Air, Cathay Pacific, Dubai Aerospace Enterprise, Emirates SkyCargo, Guggenheim and Korean Air all have placed orders for 747-8 Freighters.
