New all-cargo airline One Air...

Britain’s new all-cargo airline One Air has added a third Boeing 747-400 freighter to its fleet to meet the increasing demand for cargo services in Asia and Europe.  

The new Boeing 747-400 extended range freighter (ERF) has joined One Air on a five-year lease from airline cargo company AeroTransCargo FZE, the carrier said in a press release published on September 16, 2024. The cargo airline also added that the Boeing 747-400ERF had completed its first flight for the airline from Hong Kong to East Midlands Airport (EMA) that same day.  

“Our business case was always based on the high demand we saw for a British cargo airline,” Paul Bennett, One Air’s Chairman & CEO, said. “The arrival of our third 747-400 will enable us to provide more availability to our growing client base. We are also pressing ahead with our future fleet plans and expect to add at least one more freighter in the first half of 2025 based on our current growth plan.”

The Boeing 747-400ERF is the first aircraft in the cargo carrier’s fleet to have both a nose door and side door for loading and unloading. This version can carry a maximum payload of 124,000 kilograms (about 273372.88 lb).          

In its first year of charter flights, One Air has operated from various airports in the United Kingdom, such as London-Heathrow (LHR), London-Stansted (STN), East Midlands Airport (EMA), Birmingham (BHX), Doncaster/Sheffield (DSA), Glasgow Prestwick (PIK), and Cardiff (CWL).  

One Air’s 747s have also flown to locations in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, including Almaty, Amsterdam, Astana, Châteauroux, Hahn, Hong Kong, Jinan, Larnaca, Maastricht-Aachen, Muscat, Shannon, and Singapore.  

Most recently, in addition to occasional charter flights, One Air has been operating a contract for seven 747F flights each week from Hong Kong to Europe, transporting general cargo.   

The carrier started B747F flights, or so-called cargo-only operations, in July 2023 after receiving its Air operator certificate (AOC) from the UK Civil Aviation Authority. In December 2023, One Air added a second 747-400 freighter to its fleet. The airline completed it’s inaugural flight with a Boeing 747-400 freighter on July 24, 2024.

Boeing 747-400