Drops Commitment From Eight To Six Firm Orders

The Air France-KLM Group announced it is reducing its commitment for the new Airbus A350F freighter aircraft, which has yet to fly, following the group’s review of the orders considering the delay in production as well as uncertainty in the global cargo and logistics market.

The Group is reducing its firm order to six aircraft from the original commitment of eight as its main cargo subsidiaries, Air France Cargo and Martinair, each lowered its order of four to three of the widebodied cargo carrier.

Air France placed its order in 2022 and KLM in early 2023. Then in early 2025 the Group said it would review those orders due to continuing production delays by Airbus and the uncertainty for market demand.

The Group’s internal fleet review led to the decision that it would better positioned with just six of the aircraft at the present time. They also noted it was intended to balance future capital expenditures with operational efficiency, in light of the delay until at least 2027 of the aircraft’s entry into service, a year later than previously confirmed.

The next-generation aircraft had been slated to replace Air France’s currently operating two Boeing 777-200ER freighters and four of Martinair’s Boeing 747-400F aircraft. The airline group is closely monitoring the state of the global cargo market to determine future freighter aircraft needs.

At least ten customers have ordered the A350F so far, totaling nearly 90 aircraft prior to these cancelations.

FMI:  www.airfranceklm.com/