Tag Archives: McDonnell Douglas MD-11F

The last MD-11F leaves Lufthansa Cargo

Lufthansa Cargo announced the retirement of its last McDonnell Douglas MD-11 (F) freighter:

Era of tri-jets within Lufthansa Group comes to an end – On October 17, Lufthansa Cargo’s last MD-11F landed in Frankfurt

On Sunday, October 17, 2021, a Lufthansa Cargo MD-11 landed at Frankfurt Airport for the last time. Flight LH8161 from New York (JFK) touched down ahead of schedule at 12:03 p.m. local time on runway 07R. This marked the end of commercial service of the three-engine MD-11F aircraft type at Lufthansa Cargo after more than 23 years. The aircraft with registration D-ALCC, also the last MD-11F registered in Europe, will now be sold to an American cargo airline.

“We are very grateful to our MD-11F fleet for over two decades of loyal service. We know that this particular aircraft has an incredible number of fans, throughout our colleagues at Lufthansa as well as among aviation enthusiasts worldwide. The decisive factor for the introduction of the MD-11F at Lufthansa Cargo in the late nineties was its significantly better fuel efficiency compared to the widebody freighter previously used. In the future, we will rely on the twin-engine Boeing 777F for the same reason,” said Dorothea von Boxberg, Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO of Lufthansa Cargo.

Lufthansa Cargo took delivery of its first two MD-11 freighters (former registrations D-ALCA and D-ALCB) in June 1998, followed by the third aircraft in August of the same year and given the registration D-ALCC. In total, Lufthansa Cargo operated nineteen MD-11, including the last ever manufactured (former registration D-ALCN, serial number 48806, delivered 25 January 2001) and the last ever delivered (former registration D-ALCM, serial number 48805, delivered 22 February 2001) aircraft of this type.

The MD-11 freighter is 61.4 meters long with a wingspan of 51.7 meters and a height of up to 18 meters. It has a cargo capacity of up to 94.7 tons, divided into 26 positions on the main deck and up to 14 more on the lower deck. Lufthansa Cargo’s freighters were powered by three General Electric CF6-80C2D1F jet engines, each with 273.57 kN standard thrust. The maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) was 285.99 metric tons, resulting in a range of 7,242 kilometers.

Since November 2013, Lufthansa Cargo has been gradually replacing the MD-11F freighters with twin-engine Boeing 777 freighters, which are much quieter and operate with lower emissions.

Top Copyright Photo: Lufthansa Cargo McDonnell Douglas MD-11F D-ALCC (msn 48783) (Thank you MD-11 – Farewell) FRA (Bernhard Ross). Image: 955336.

Lufthansa Cargo slide show:

Photo: Lufthansa Cargo McDonnell Douglas MD-11F D-ALCC (msn 48783) (Thank you MD-11 – Farewell) FRA (Bernhard Ross). Image: 955336.

Copyright Photo: Lufthansa Cargo McDonnell Douglas MD-11F D-ALCC (msn 48783) (Thank you MD-11 – Farewell) FRA (Bernhard Ross). Image: 955336.

Last MD-11 in Europe. Last flight is scheduled for October 14, 2021, flight LH8161 JFK – FRA.

Lufthansa Cargo prepares to retire the last MD-11F freighter

Lufthansa Cargo made this announcement on social media:

Within the next months, we will say goodbye to the MD-11F in our Lufthansa Cargo fleet. Over the years a total of 19 different powerful workhorses have flown for us.

The MD-11F joined Lufthansa Cargo in 1998.

The last remaining MD-11F in the fleet is D-ALCC (below).

Above Copyright Photo: Lufthansa Cargo McDonnell Douglas MD-11F D-ALCC (msn 48783) FRA (Jay Selman). Image: 404099.

Top Copyright Photo: Lufthansa Cargo McDonnell Douglas MD-11F D-ALCA (msn 48781) LAX. Image: 947109.

Lufthansa Cargo aircraft slide show:

Lufthansa Cargo to accelerate the retirement of its MD-11Fs

Lufthansa Cargo will significantly accelerate the modernization of its fleet by purchasing two more brand-new Boeing 777F freighters. Lufthansa Group and Supervisory Board have approved the corresponding investments. The aircraft will be delivered by the manufacturer in 2020 and be based in Frankfurt.

The ten older MD-11 freighters, which have already been partially replaced by Boeing 777F this year, are expected to be withdrawn from the fleet by the end of 2020.

Due to the higher cargo capacity and range, the same freight performance can be achieved in the future with noticeably fewer aircraft movements. Overall, Lufthansa Cargo’s customers will have the same freighter capacity at their disposal at the end of the rollover as they had at the beginning when eighteen MD-11Fs were in operation for Lufthansa’s cargo arm. In addition to its own fleet, Lufthansa Cargo can also utilize the cargo capacity of four Boeing 777Fs operated by AeroLogic.

Lufthansa Cargo first put the eye-catching MD-11F three-jet aircraft into operation in 1998 because of its efficiency advantages. It replaced the four-engine jumbo freighters until 2005. The twin-engine Boeing 777F is now around 20 percent more efficient and emits less CO2 than the MD-11F. In addition, the new model meets the strict noise protection requirements of ICAO Annex 16, Volume I, Chapter 14.

In addition to its own fleet, Lufthansa Cargo also markets the belly hold capacities of Lufthansa German Airlines, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Eurowings and SunExpress. In total, around half of the cargo is carried in passenger aircraft’s belly holds.

Top Copyright Photo: Lufthansa Cargo McDonnell Douglas MD-11F D-ALCB (msn 48782) FRA (Marcelo F. De Biasi). Image: 943189.

Lufthansa Cargo aircraft slide show:

FedEx Express early retires 15 aircraft, adjusts the retirement schedule for 23 additional older aircraft

FedEx Corporation (FedEx Express) (Memphis) has announced it has permanently retired 15 aircraft and 21 related engines as it continues to rationalize capacity and modernize its aircraft fleet to more effectively serve FedEx Express customers.

The company continued;

The permanent retirement of aircraft and related engines includes:

Seven McDonnell MD-11F airframes and 12 related engines;

Three Airbus A300 airframes and three related engines;

Four Airbus A310-300 airframes and three related engines; and

One McDonnell Douglas MD10-10 airframe and three related engines.

The impact of retiring these aircraft, engines and related parts resulted in a non-cash impairment charge of $246 million recorded in May 2015.

FedEx has also adjusted the retirement schedule of an additional 23 airframes and 57 engines.

FedEx also recognized in May 2015 $30 million in cash charges associated with these actions.

These combined retirement changes will not have a material impact on near-term depreciation expense.

FedEx Express fleet as of February 28, 2015:

Notes:

1 – February 28, 2015 Boeing 757 count includes 21 aircraft that are not currently in operation, 5 of which are in the modification process and 16 of which are awaiting modification.

2 – As of February 28, 2015 Boeing 767 count includes 3 aircraft that are not in operation and are in the modification process. As of February 28, 2015, FedEx is committed to purchase 44 B767Fs. Aircraft to be delivered statistics include certain lease additions and expirations.

3 – As of February 28, 2015, FedEx is committed to purchase 18 Boeing 777Fs.

Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing/AirlinersGallery.com. Seven MD-11Fs were retired. McDonnell Douglas MD-11 (F) N595FE (msn 48553) climbs away from Anchorage.

FedEx Express aircraft slide show:

Nordic Global Airlines to shut down on May 31

Finnair (Helsinki) has issued this statement about the future of partially-owned Nordic Global Airlines-NGA (Helsinki):

The Board of Directors of Finnair’s associated company Nordic Global Airlines Ltd (NGA) has decided to discontinue NGA’s operations by May 31, 2015. The termination of the operations has no material impact on Finnair’s cargo business, or Finnair’s financial position. NGA, focused on cargo freighter operations, was founded in 2011. Since then NGA grew to fly main-deck cargo in four continents with its low-cost and thin-organization model, but with overcapacity in the sector and depressed freight pricing, the cargo airline’s decision to cease operations was unavoidable.

Finnair Cargo Oy owns 40 percent of the company, and other shareholders are Neff Capital Management LLC, Daken Capital Partners LLC and the Mutual Pension Insurance Company Ilmarinen. Between 2011 and 2014, Finnair leased freighter capacity from NGA for its mainly Asian cargo traffic. Finnair’s belly cargo capacity will increase significantly in the coming years, when new A350 aircraft join Finnair’s fleet. Finnair has decided to focus in future on cargo carried in the cargo holds of passenger aircraft and discontinued separate cargo freighter operations at the end of 2014.

NGA was operating four McDonnell Douglas MD-11F freighters.

Copyright Photo: Paul Bannwarth/AirlinersGallery.com. Despite the elaborate NGA logo, the NGA aircraft usually operated with only small titles and non-descript white fuselages. McDonnell Douglas MD-11 (F) OH-LGD (msn 48513) arrives at Las Palmas in the Canary islands.

Air France-KLM’s first quarter loss widens

Air France-KLM Group (Air France, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Transavia Netherlands, Transavia France, Hop! and Martinair) reported a first quarter net loss of €504 million ($56.9 million), compared to a net loss of €485 million ($546 million) in the same quarter a year ago.

Read the full report: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: Ton Jochems/AirlinersGallery.com. The group retired three Boeing 747 freighters in the Winter 2014-15 season, while another five Martinair McDonnell Douglas MD-11s will be retired by the end of the Winter 2015-16 season. The Group plans to operate only five full-freighters by the end of 2016. McDonnell Douglas MD-11 (F) PH-MCS (msn 48618) of Martinair taxies at the Amsterdam cargo hub.

Air France aircraft slide show:

KLM aircraft slide show:

Martinair aircraft slide show:

EVA Air retires its last McDonnell Douglas MD-11

EVA Air (Taipei) today (March 23) operated its last McDonnell Douglas MD-11 flight. The pictured MD-11F B-16113 (msn 48790) departed Taipei (Taoyuan) at 0840 local time as EVA Air Cargo flight BR 606 to Anchorage. EVA Air was the last operator of the tri-jet in Taiwan. China Airlines and Mandarin Airlines previously also operated the type.

EVA Air operated the MD-11 as a passenger aircraft from 1992 through 2003 and was down to just the one MD-11F freighter for today’s retirement.

EVA Air Cargo continues to operate the Boeing 747-400 freighter. EVA Air is considering adding the more efficient Boeing 777F freighter in the future.

In other news, EVA Air on June 19, 2015, EVA Air will be launching new nonstop passenger flights to Houston (Bush Intercontinental) (IAH).

EVA Air aircraft slide show:

Martinair to further reduce its freighter fleet by June 2016, the MD-11Fs to be retired

Martinair Cargo (Amsterdam) will scale back its freighter fleet by June 2016 and will continue as a freighter operator for the Air France-KLM-Martinair Cargo group using three Boeing 747-400 ERFs and a Boeing 747-400 BCF. This means the remaining McDonnell Douglas MD-11F freighters will be phased out.

KLM has issued this statement:

The company has reached this decision after a thorough deliberation with all the parties involved.

In September 2014, Air France-KLM-Martinair Cargo announced it would be reducing the amount of freighter capacity it needs in its network. Both KLM and Martinair Cargo have discussed the consequences of this decision with the works councils. The decision to scale back the full-freighter fleet has been taken to restore the division’s financial health. The decision will affect more than 330 employees.

Air France-KLM-Martinair Cargo group has decided on a business model which requires less freighter capacity, rather than a model with no freighters at all. Consequently, as an operating carrier within the KLM Group, Martinair Cargo will scale back its fleet and use just one type of aircraft (Boeing 747). This decision affects around 170 ground staff FTEs in the Netherlands, 50 FTEs abroad and 110 cockpit FTEs.

The company will do its utmost to reassign ground staff within the KLM Group using existing instruments, the scope of which may be extended to include voluntary redundancy. This will take place in close consultation with the unions and will only apply to employees working in areas where a staff surplus arises.

A number of voluntary measures have recently been rolled out for pilots at Martinair Cargo. Reassignment options within the group have been explored over the last few months and a number of pilots have taken the step to join Transavia. Recent changes in the financial conditions mean KLM is unable to offer pilots the same salaries they were receiving at Martinair. With KLM’s help, Martinair will continue to make every effort to find solutions for the pilots outside the KLM group. Negotiations between Martinair Cargo and the unions are ongoing and are based on the existing collective labour agreement (CLA). However, the possibility of compulsory redundancies cannot be excluded. Air France-KLM-Martinair Cargo deeply regrets the social consequences of these changes, but the reduction is unavoidable if the cargo business is to be restored to good health.

From 2016, Air France-KLM-Martinair Cargo will continue to operate with a main frame fleet of six Full Freighters (two Boeing 777Fs at Paris Charles De Gaulle and four Boeing 747-400s at Amsterdam Schiphol), supplemented by 15 Boeing 747 Combi’s.

Air France-KLM-Martinair Cargo is convinced that the remaining flexible freighters will continue to provide its clients with a full range of solutions to meet their needs. The freighter network at Schiphol will concentrate on Africa and North, Central and South America and will, of course, continue to serve important markets, such as the flower sector. The company will also continue to invest in Cargo (Express, Pharma, e-commerce).

Cargo remains a core business for the Air France-KLM Group. It generates income of EUR 2.5 billion per year and contributes around EUR 1 billion a year to the passenger network. It goes without saying that pulling out of the cargo business is out of the question.

Copyright Photo: Mark Durbin/AirlinersGallery.com. McDonnell Douglas MD-11 (F) PH-MCR (msn 48617) is pictured at San Francisco International Airport (SFO).

Martinair aircraft slide show:

Finnair to get out of the dedicated freighter business

Finnair (Helsinki) is getting out of the dedicated freighter business by the end of this month according to ch-aviation. The Finnish carrier will depend on belly cargo in the future using its own passenger aircraft. Currently its dedicated freighter operation is provided by partial owned (40%) Nordic Global Airlines (NGA) which operates four McDonnell Douglas MD-11F freighters mainly for Finnair. It is unclear if NGA will continue to operate its ACMI operations after Finnair stops all dedicated freighter operations.

Nordic Global describes its operations:

Nordic Global Airlines Ltd (NGA) is a Finnish all cargo carrier based in Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, Finland. NGA focuses on ACMI and Cargo Charters worldwide and operates under EASA AOC.

NGA has a highly dedicated and experienced team to manage the operations. As a young and dynamic company we are able to deliver the right ACMI and Charter services to our customers.

At the beginning of 2014 NGA operates a fleet of four MD-11F freighters for long-term ACMI customers and on ad-hoc charter basis.

Since the commencement of the commercial operations in August 2011 NGA has performed more than 2,000 flights to our customers satisfaction.

Route Map for NGA:

Copyright Photo: Marco Finelli. Former Finnair McDonnell Douglas MD-11 (F) OH-LGC (msn 48512) wears only small Nordic Global Airlines titles at its Helsinki base.