Emirates SkyCargo (the cargo arm of the airline) has grown its cargo fleet, with the addition of a Boeing 777-300ERSF.
For those who need help with the letter soup, Boeing 777-300 Extended Range Special Freighter. This aircraft has been converted from a passenger aircraft to a freighter.
It has deployed the Boeing 777-300ERSF, registered as A6-EBK, on its first flight from Hong Kong to Dubai, carrying over 100 tonnes of cargo. It was modified by Israel Aerospace Industries under its “Big Twin” modification programme.
The programme was launched by AerCap, with Kalitta as the lead customer, and type certificates were granted in 2025. The aircraft used in this programme was delivered originally to Emirates in 2006. It has had periods of use and inactivity before it was sent to IAI for modification.
The converted Emirates Boeing 777-300ERSF offers 100 tonnes of payload capacity and 811 m³ of cargo volume, representing a 25% increase in cargo volume over the Boeing 777-F production freighter.
At 47 pallet positions, the converted aircraft also accommodates 10 additional pallet positions when compared with the Boeing 777-F production freighter, making it ideal for transporting volumetric cargo such as e-commerce goods, which currently constitute around 20% of global air cargo tonnage, with further growth projected in the next few years.
The converted Boeing 777-300ERSF is the sixth new freighter, following five Boeing 777F production freighters, to join Emirates SkyCargo’s fleet since March 2026. As part of its expansion strategy, Emirates SkyCargo will also be taking delivery of five additional Boeing 777-F aircraft as well as one additional converted Boeing 777-300ERSF by December 2026. Emirates SkyCargo will also be introducing three additional converted Boeing 777-ERSFs into its fleet in 2027.
In Quotes
Badr Abbas, Emirates SkyCargo’s Divisional Senior Vice President, said: “
The induction of the first converted Emirates Boeing 777-300ERSF into operational service represents the next step in the expansion of our fleet and operational agility. We are optimising our fleet assets by converting older Boeing 777-300ER passenger aircraft to meet the growing demand for air cargo capacity to transport goods rapidly across the world.
“Combined with our growing fleet of Boeing 777-F production freighters, we have already been able to scale our global freighter network from just over 40 destinations in February this year to 62 destinations currently and growing. We are providing our global customers with scalable cargo capacity and ultimate flexibility and connectivity when moving cargo to and through our hub in Dubai.”
Utilising the fleet
It’s not uncommon for aircraft to be converted from passenger aircraft to freighter aircraft, with converters seeing the value of a large aircraft such as a 777-300ER as a freighter.
For Emirates, it’s further utilising an aircraft that could have been scrapped – but instead, with the aircraft being deemed fit for freighter use and utilising those aircraft for further operations.
An interesting step forward, considering the extra capacity offered.
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