Nippon Cargo Airlines is accelerating the renewal of its fleet, replacing its Boeing 747-200F aircraft with Boeing 747-400Fs.
According to NCA's medium- and long-term management plan, the Phoenix Project, the retirement of the B747-200F aircraft was scheduled to be completed in August 2008. However, NCA has decided to retire the remaining B747-200Fs earlier, completing the task by the end of FY2007, and starting operations with the new fleet of B747-400F jets as of April 2008. With the cooperation of Boeing Corporation in the United States, NCA will bring forward the receipt of its 10th B747-400F from May 2009 to March 2009, thereby completing the renewal of its entire fleet within FY2008.
With the early completion of the upgrade, NCA will have the youngest fleet of the world's air cargo carriers. The average age of NCA aircraft as of April 2007 was 11.4 years, but that will fall to just 1.5 years in April 2008. NCA has already accomplished independent maintenance for B747-400Fs. And with the complete retirement of the B747-200Fs, engineering and maintenance will thereafter be carried out by NCA, thereby accomplishing independence in maintenance operations.
B747-400F aircraft are an improvement on their predecessors in many areas, including fuel efficiency, flight operation capabilities, load capacity and flight distance. The aircraft is environment-friendly in that its fuel efficiency per kilo-ton is improved by 18 percent, and it has reduced C02 and NOx emissions. NCA's fleet also has a unified nose cargo door and through the upgrading of the fleet, NCA will be able to ensure flight punctuality and high-quality transportation services.
In October 2009, NCA will be the launch customer for the state-of-the-art, next-generation Boeing 747-8F. As an air cargo carrier with the world's most advanced equipment, NCA will do its utmost to not only ensure safe flight operations, but also to improve its global network and transportation services to satisfy the needs of its clients.
