Boeing announced that it is now offering a 777 airliner in a cargo configuration. This will make it the world’s largest twin-engine cargo plane. Since the Boeing 777 has one of the best fuel efficiency and range ratings, it makes it an ideal aircraft for air cargo companies. The 777 Freighter is capable of flying 4,965 miles with a full payload. The maximum takeoff weight of the 777 is 766,000 pounds. and can carry 229,000 pounds of cargo. These are incredible statistics and assure Boeing of many more orders to come. Boeing’s future in commercial aviation will largely depend on air cargo demand in the coming years.

When you study the future of world markets, you see a very good future for air freight. By 2025 we will most likely see an 85% increase and that will mean converting older aircraft and modernizing them. Many older Boeing 747 aircraft are now being modernized. And it will mean good things for both Boeing and Airbus. The Boeing Company said the 777 Freighter will accommodate the same 10-foot-high pallets as the 747-400 Freighter. I expect many current aircraft to fly passengers and be out of capacity as the current industry turnover completes (fuel prices will drive that up) and new, more efficient aircraft come onto the scene. We recently saw another merger and pending layoffs with US Air and America West. We see that Delta is struggling and that the other major carriers are, in fact, under severe stress.

I predict that 66% of the growth will come from the conversion of current passenger aircraft, while there will be 33% of new aircraft that do not require pilots at all. Cargo flight around the world. This will mean a market of more than 170 billion in upgrades and new planes for people like Pimco and Timco and others. If you look at these numbers, you can see a future for laid-off aerospace workers from Everette, Wichita, Dayton, Long Beach and elsewhere. With these aging aerospace workers, it will most likely mean a need for new entrants into that workforce. I would also say that 40% of that growth would be to serve North America and its growing middle class as they participate in products from world markets. With this increase, we could expect the current air cargo fleet of more than 1,700 to grow to more than 3,200 by 2025. Although these are long-term predictions, they do take into account normal cycles such as 15-year cycles or 2-year business cycles. 3 years. GE will also benefit along with aircraft parts manufacturers.

Air France has ordered five Boeing 777s with an option for more to retire its aging 747-200 fleet. Air Canada also wants to move its fleet into place with Boeing 777 Freighters and 787s. Boeing forecasts that large wide-body freighters will account for 31 percent of the air cargo market by 2023. They may be correct and could even be larger. This is great news for cities like Wichita, KS, where a large percentage of the new 777s will be built. It’s also a good strategic move for Boeing to meet future air cargo demands. Commercial aviation is not dead, it is just being refined in the short term to take advantage of long-term market needs. Think about it.