Asiana Airlines (OZ, Seoul Incheon) is planning to place an order for new widebody dedicated freighters in "a matter of months" to replace all ten of its B747 freighters and a single B767-300F, the carrier told Cargo Facts.
The South Korean airline is evaluating the B777-200F, B777-8(F), and A350-1000(F) types. It said that it would like to operate a single-type freighter fleet going forward but did not share any expectations regarding the size of the order or its planned rollover timeline.
Asiana Airlines currently operates six B747-400(BDSF)s (having returned one unit, HL7618 (msn 26343), in April 2022), four B747-400FSCDs, and the sole B767-300F. The ch-aviation fleets ownership module shows that except for one B747-400(BDSF) and two -400(FSCD)s, the airline owns the remainder of its freighter fleet.
While the order for new widebody jets is a long-term solution, Asiana Airlines said it was "desperate" for additional capacity in the short term. It did not specify whether it would seek to wet-lease freighters or add them to its in-house fleet. The airline did not respond to ch-aviation's request for comment.
Asiana used to wet-lease up to three B747 freighters from Atlas Air (5Y, New York JFK) on a contract that ended in March 2022.
Cargo contributed 72.3% of Asiana Airlines' revenue in 2021, a figure that was heavily impacted by protracted travel restrictions in the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the fourth quarter of 2021, cargo's share of inflows spiked to 80%.
