Qatar Airways Cargo has welcomed the seventh Airbus A330F and first Boeing 747F nose loader aircraft to its fleet at its home base in Doha’s Hamad International Airport.
Continuing on its trajectory of rapid growth and expansion, the world’s third largest international cargo carrier now features a fleet of some 16 freighters including seven Airbus A330F, eight Boeing 777F and one Boeing 747F.
Qatar Airways Cargo is scheduled to receive further aircraft next year and is expected to expand its fleet to a total of 21 freighters by 2017, demonstrating the airline’s unwavering commitment to developing one of the strongest air cargo fleets in the skies.
“We are delighted to welcome the seventh Airbus A330F and our first Boeing 747F nose loader to our growing freighter fleet,” said Ulrich Ogiermann, Qatar Airways chief officer (Cargo).
“The arrival of this new aircraft brings our total fleet up to 16 freighters and is an important addition to the airline at a time when we are experiencing unprecedented growth. Increasing our capacity in tandem with increasing our network reach is an essential part of our strategy for the coming years and we expect to have a total of 21 freighters in our fleet by 2017.”
The new aircraft is currently scheduled to support the airline’s busy network by increasing frequencies to Bahrain, Brussels, Chennai, Hyderabad, London Stansted and Mumbai.
The A330-200F is the world’s most modern mid-size freighter. Powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 772B engines, the A330 freighter can carry a maximum gross pay load of up to 68 tonnes, with a range capability of up to 4,000 nautical miles. This range and pay load capability provides flexibility for both regional and intercontinental operations.
The A330-200F’s large main-deck cargo door allows the aircraft to accept all commonly-used pallets and containers, enabling the transport of a full range of cargo – from high-value consumer goods to express packages and perishables.
The main deck cargo compartments and lower deck cargo compartments on A330-200F are ventilated and have temperature control options of 5°C to 25°C.
The B747 freighter is ideal for the requirements of express cargo and industrial freight operators.
Powered by Pratt & Whitney engines, the B747F is capable of flying 4,100 nautical miles with full load and is most appropriate for short- to medium-length international flights.
The B747 freighter has seating for up to eight cargo attendants or grooms for horses. The B747F has a main deck nose door and a mechanised cargo handling system. The nose door swings up so that pallets or containers up to 40ft (12 m) can be loaded straight in on motor-driven rollers.
An automatic temperature control system is installed to maintain pre-selected temperatures in the flight compartment, supernumerary compartment, and main deck cargo compartment.
The temperatures of the forward and aft lower deck cargo compartments are controlled separately.
The temperature can be set and maintained between 4°C and 29°C.
Qatar Airways Cargo recently quoted latest IATA international Freight Tonne Kilometres (FTK) figures and said it was now the third largest international cargo airline in the world.
This is phenomenal growth for the rapidly expanding company, which has risen to the number three position from 16th place in just five years.