Ethiopian Airlines orders 10 Boeing freighters, including eight 777-8Fs

Ethiopian Airlines signed an agreement with Boeing on 30 September for 10 new factory-built freighters: eight yet-to-be-certified 777-8Fs and two 777-200Fs. CEO Mesfin Tasew announced the order at a signing ceremony in Addis Ababa. The catalogue price was put at $5 billion, while the agreed price is confidential; the deal also includes options on eight more 777-8Fs. The carrier already operates 12 B777Fs, three Boeing 767 freighters and four converted 737s within a fleet of more than 140 aircraft, and it is helping to fund a $12.5 billion plan for what officials describe as Africa's largest airport, with phase one due to open in 2030.

Boeing is still building the 777-200F under an FAA exemption. Under ICAO rules adopted in 2017 and later adopted by the US, newly built aircraft exceeding set fuel-efficiency and CO2 limits could not receive their first airworthiness certificate after 1 January 2028; production of the GE90-powered 777F would have ended on 31 December 2027. Boeing petitioned the FAA in December 2025, citing 777-8F delays, and the FAA granted an exemption covering up to 35 newly built 777Fs receiving first airworthiness certificates from 1 January 2028 through the end of 2030. Boeing delivered 35 B777Fs in 2025 and 18 more by 31 August 2026; 38 aircraft remained to be delivered. Eight are listed for FedEx, four for Saudia, three for Emirates, and two each for China Airlines, China Southern Cargo and Silk Way West Airlines; the other 17 are not assigned to active airlines. Six are listed against Volga-Dnepr UK Limited, the UK subsidiary of the Russian cargo carrier, which is insolvent and in administration, effectively leaving it defunct as an operating airline; another 11 are listed as unidentified customer(s). It is unclear whether Ethiopian's two additional B777Fs are on top of the 38 or come from the group of 17.

The 777-8F's entry into service is targeted for 2029, though some customers already believe it could slip to 2030; certification of the wider 777X programme has been moved to a 2026 goal, with the passenger 777-9 now planned to enter service in 2027. Airbus completed the maiden flight of the A350F from Toulouse on 29 September: MSN700 stayed airborne for 4 hours 10 minutes, climbed to 25,000 feet and reached an indicated airspeed of 340 knots. Powered by Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-97 engines, the A350F is designed to carry up to 111 tonnes over a range of up to 8,700 km; Airbus claims up to 40% lower fuel burn and CO2 emissions than competing aircraft in its payload-range class and says it is the first new freighter designed to fully meet ICAO's latest CO2 standards. As of the end of August, Airbus had 115 A350F orders from 14 customers, which it says gives it up to 59% of the large freighter market. The A350F competes directly with both the B777-200F and the 777-8F, with Etihad Airways having 10 on order.