BA World Cargo invests over $1 billion in freighter fleet (25/07/2007)

British Airways World Cargo today announced that it has renewed the wet-lease of its three Boeing 747-400 freighter aircraft for an additional five years from Global Supply Systems (GSS), in a deal with total operating costs of over $1 billion.

Representing the largest-ever freighter investment by BA, the deal recognises the vital role that freighters have to play in the long-term success of the airline.

Chris Bosworth, general manager commercial development, BA World Cargo said: "Our customers consistently tell us that they value our freighter capacity, especially on high demand routes such as ex Asia Pacific.

"This investment is a clear sign of the value that BA places on BA World Cargo, and when combined with the strength of the mainline network, serving 200 destinations in over 80 countries, it further improves our strong customer proposition."

Earlier in the year, BA World Cargo increased the number of its shorthaul freighter services it runs by 40 percent to deliver a total of 45 weekly wide-body services across 11 European destinations. In addition, the carrier also launched two new weekly Boeing 727 freighter routings from Pakistan (Karachi - Bahrain and Lahore - Bahrain) in June 2007.