AerCap signed leasing contracts with Fly Meta to provide four Boeing 777-300ERSF planes to the Hong Kong-based air cargo charter company. If all goes according to plan, the aircraft should be delivered between 2024 and 2025.
The Boeing 777-300ERSF, also known as «The Big Twin,» is the first Boeing 777-300ER airliner-to-freighter conversion program and will be the largest twin-engine freighter when it enters service. The first aircraft of the type is expected to begin flying this year.
«We are pleased to welcome Fly Meta as a new customer to the 777-300ERSF program,» said Rich Greener, head of AerCap Cargo. «With 25% more capacity than the largest long-haul twin-engine freighters, the Big Twin offers significant improvements in cost efficiency, superior range, and exceptional operational commonality, making it the ideal aircraft for Fly Meta’s growing widebody freighter fleet.»
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«We are delighted to sign these leasing agreements with AerCap. We are confident that the situation will change for the better as China continues to lift its restrictions for Covid. Once this happens we expect the cargo market to grow steadily over the next few years. We believe that the volumetric capacity and increased operational efficiency of the 777-300ERSF will give us a competitive advantage in the market,» added Helen Chen, CEO of Fly Meta. The airline currently has a Boeing 747-400 freighter wet-leased from Air Atlanta Icelandic.
AerCap Cargo and Israel Aerospace Industries Group (IAI) launched the 777-300ERSF conversion program, known as ‘The Big Twin’, in 2019. AerCap Cargo currently has a firm order backlog of 20 aircraft and ten other options. The first aircraft is expected to be delivered in the first half of 2023 to U.S. cargo carrier Kalitta Air.
