The Air France-KLM Group has placed a firm order for four A350Fs, the brand-new Airbus widebody freighter, to be operated by Martinair Holland N.V.
In its announcement, Air France-KLM Group said the A350Fs would allow the Dutch cargo airline — headquartered and based in Amsterdam Schiphol airport and part of KLM Group — to retire its existing older generation freighters and replace them with a clean sheet cargo aircraft that offers a big step towards more sustainable cargo operations.
"We are delighted to make this major step forward to the A350F. It accelerates Air France KLM Martinair Cargo sustainability ambitions with significant improvement in fuel emissions and complying with the most stringent ICAO Chapter 14 for noise and CAEP 8 for NOx," said Adriaan den Heijer, executive vice president of Air France KLM Cargo and managing director Martinair.
Christian Scherer, Airbus chief commercial officer and head of Airbus International, noted that the transaction is "another A350F endorsement."
"We are delighted to see the A350F enter the KLM/Martinair world, confirming the relevance this most modern high-capacity long-range cargo aircraft brings to the airfreight segment. I am very pleased with how our program is taking off," Scherer said.
The Airbus executive further noted that the new aircraft have 50% less noise and 40% less fuel burn and CO2 emissions compared to the previous generation aircraft it is replacing.
The announcement noted that the A350F is based on the world's most modern long-range leader, the A350.
It said the aircraft would feature the largest main deck cargo door and a fuselage length optimised for cargo operations.
Over 70% of the airframe is also made of advanced materials resulting in a minimum 30 tonnes lighter take-off weight, the announcement said.
Airbus said delivery to Martinair will be in time to comply with the latest ICAO CO2 emissions standards that will come into effect by the end of 2027.
With a 109 tonnes payload capability (+3t payload / 11% more volume than its competition), the A350F serves all cargo markets (Express, general cargo, and special cargo, among others).
The A350F — launched in 2021 — has recorded 35 orders from seven customers.
