Emirates To Fly 777-300ER Freighter

Emirates has made a pivotal step in the development of its Boeing 777 fleet.

The Dubai-based carrier at the 2025 edition of the Dubai Airshow confirmed to Cargo Facts that its first 777-300ER has departed for Tel Aviv, where it’ll complete a pivotal freight conversion.

The landmark decision will see the airline Group’s cargo division begin flying the 777-300ERSF model in 2026, a new-to-market jet that aims to leverage the 777’s capabilities and extend its life beyond passenger flights.

Emirates will work in close collaboration with IAI to ensure the conversion goes smoothly and that it’s back in Dubai, completing regular freighter missions by next year, something that’ll become more common around the world.

Emirates has a strong fleet of Boeing 777s, and as more of its units age by its standards, the aircraft do not need to be sent to the scrap heap immediately; conversions such as these present new opportunities for businesses to extend the lifespan of existing assets.

Often known as the Big Twin, the 777-300ERSF aims to transform an existing passenger model into a large cargo freighter, with the first two units delivered just in recent months.

The conversion program was launched before the turn of the decade and is a collaborative effort between major leasing company AerCap and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), and is the first conversion program pitched for the 777-300ER platform.

With a strong payload, these parties aim to leverage it and offer freight providers a more immediate solution to freight requirements in an age when new planes continue to be delayed, especially with the A350F and 777-8F.

Additionally, opportunities for smaller freight operators to take on these aircraft are possible, as not all companies may be able to commit directly to planemakers due to the sheer scale of the required investment.

As a result, conversions such as the Big Twin will become all the more common moving forward, Emirates acting on the available conversion, and will not be the last to do something similar in a new era of passenger-to-freight conversions.

The Emirates Boeing 777 In Question

The Boeing 777, which is now undergoing conversion to fly for Emirates’ freighter division, is A6-EBK.

Fleet data shows this aircraft was first delivered to the airline on 15 February 2026, after completing its first flight on 31 January 2026.

The 777-31H(ER) has since flown across the airline’s network but has had its fair share of configuration changes over the years.

Line Number 549 with an MSN of 34481 was reconfigured during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic to a Preighter layout, allowing it to maximise freight operations while still focusing on passenger flying.

The aircraft returned to its previous F8C42Y310 configuration towards the back-half of 2022 as demand returned, but it would spend just three years back in service before being pulled.

The aircraft, at the end of October 2025, was withdrawn from scheduled passenger services and stored at Dubai International before making the flight to Tel Aviv, where the conversion process will begin