LONDON – Boeing celebrates today 50 years of the Widebody Freighter being in service.
March 10, 1972, saw the first widebody freighter, a 747-200, delivered to Lufthansa, marking “a new era in cargo shipping” as the manufacturer states.
In 1993, Cargolux took delivery of the first 747-400F, with the first 767-300 Freighter delivered to UPS in 1995.
By 2009, Air France received the first-ever Boeing 777 Freighter, marking out some overall achievements as it gears up for the future with the 777X Freighter.
Darren Hulst, the VP of Commercial Marketing at Boeing commented on this feat:
“The ability to ship more goods by air changed global trade overnight”.
“People around the world could receive goods in days instead of months.”
“Boeing freighters played a significant role in that, and they continue to define the art of the possible today in e-commerce and global trade thanks to their efficiency, versatility, and our continuous product innovation to support tomorrow’s market needs.”
Looking ahead to the future with the 777X Freighter, Boeing predicts there is going to be a need for 3,435 aircraft by 2040.
With there already orders secured for this variant of the freighter, this is of course just the beginning as we will potentially see more orders for this type over the next 18 years ahead of when that forecast would end.
For Boeing overall, this is a significant milestone and will no doubt continue onwards in providing such widebody aircraft to customers in the future.
