Airbus A350F rendering
Air China Cargo, a subsidiary of Air China, has plans to order up to 10 Airbus A350F aircraft to expand its freighter fleet, with deliveries between 2029 and 2031. The order will be submitted for review during the airline’s upcoming shareholders meeting.
In a stock exchange filing on October 28 (local time), Air China Cargo, listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SZSE), said it signed an agreement to buy up to 10 A350F aircraft to grow its fleet and improve its market share. The order is split between six firms and four optional orders, totaling $4.65 billion at list prices. Air China Cargo detailed that “after fair negotiations between the two parties,” Airbus has given the airline “a large price discount, so the actual consideration of this transaction will be lower than” the aircraft’s list price.
Airbus should deliver the freighters between 2029 and 2031, the Chinese cargo carrier estimated. However, it warned that the company’s shareholders will have to approve the transaction during the meeting on November 14, 2025.
Nevertheless, if approved, and if Airbus adds it to its backlog during the next two months, it will be the European planemaker’s fourth A350F order in 2025. In addition to an undisclosed customer buying three A350Fs in January, STARLUX Airlines and AviLease purchased five and 10 A350F aircraft on January 17 and June 5, respectively.
AviLease’s order was announced during the Paris Air Show on June 16, while Airbus unveiled the Taiwanese carrier’s A350F order on January 9.
As of September 30, Airbus has booked 65 A350F orders. Its customers include Air France (four), AviLease (10), Cathay Pacific (six), CMA CGM (eight), Etihad Airways (seven), Martinair (three), Silk Way West Airlines (two), Singapore Airlines (seven), STARLUX Airlines (10), Turkish Airlines (five), and the aforementioned undisclosed customer, which has ordered three units.
The type’s previous launch customer, Air Lease Corporation (ALC), cut its order for seven A350Fs in July. During the lessor’s 2Q25 earnings call, John Plueger, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of ALC, confirmed the cut, saying that the company simply “decided to stick with new passenger airliners versus venturing into new freighters.”
“Contractually, the majority of our A350F aircraft were more than a year late.” Plueger added that with the cancellation, the company freed up more than $1 billion in looking-forward Capital Expenditure (CapEx) commitments, “making that capital available for other alternatives.”
When Airbus announced the A350F during the Dubai Airshow in November 2021, including the now-canceled ALC order, it said that the freighter, based on the A350-1000, would enter service in 2026.
However, delays followed, including issues related to Spirit AeroSystems and the supplier’s pending merger with Boeing. The latest update from Airbus was that the A350F should enter service in 2H27, according to Leeham News and Analysis.
That timeline could – or could not – shift in just two days, with Airbus publishing its 3Q25 financial results on October 29. The last time that the A350F’s commercial debut date slipped was in February, when the company announced its 2024 results.
At the time, it said that it was “adjusting the entry-into-service of the A350 freighter variant, which is now expected in 2H27.”
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