KALITTA AIR / BOEING 777-300ER(F) / N780CK

Duncan Stewart
 

FLEET / ROUTES - JAL to Increase Weekly Code-Share Cargo Flights with KALITTA Airlines between Narita and Chicago

- Increasing Flight Frequency to Meet Asia-North America Cargo Demand -

Tokyo, JAPAN – Japan Airlines Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo; President: Mitsuko Tottori, hereinafter "JAL") is pleased to announce an increase in the number of weekly code-share cargo flights operated with KALITTA Airlines (Headquarters: Ypsilanti, Michigan, USA; CEO: Conrad Kalitta, hereinafter "KALITTA") between Narita and Chicago from three to five flights per week, starting December 10.

Since May 2025 (*1) , JAL has been provided stable and flexible air cargo transportation by incorporating large cargo aircraft into its network through a code-share agreement with KALITTA. This has enabled JAL to respond to the rapidly growing cargo demand between Asia and North America.
By increasing the frequency of large cargo flights from three to five times a week, JAL will further strengthen its transportation capacity and continue to meet the rising demand for cargo transportation between Asia and North America.

Flight Schedule

(*1) Reference: JAL Expands Cargo Services with New Narita-Chicago Route Using Freighters and Passenger Aircraft https://press.jal.co.jp/en/release/202503/008712.html, Mar 19 2025

JAL aims to contribute to solving social issues and achieve sustainable growth as a logistics infrastructure by expanding the air transportation network and responding to the demand for high-value-added cargo such as high-tech goods, chemicals, and express shipments with high-quality cargo handling, which is one of JALCARGO’s strengths.    

■Aircraft Overview
Boeing 777-300ERSF
Payload: 224,900lbs (100,000kg)
Upper Cargo Compartment：33 Palettes
Lower Cargo Compartment：14 Palettes

Boeing 747-400F

Payload: 249,100lbs (112,990kg)
Upper Cargo Compartment: 30 Palettes
Lower Cargo Compartment: 9 Palettes, 4 Containers
 

FLEET - US’s Kalitta Air debuts B777-300(ERSF) ops

Kalitta Air (K4, Detroit Willow Run) has operated the first cargo commercial flight globally of the B777-300(ERSF).

N778CK (msn 32789) flew on October 8 and 9 between Cincinnati International and Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson on behalf of DHL International, ADS-B data shows. The newly certified conversion variant is currently only operated by Kalitta Air.

The US cargo specialist took delivery of two B777-300(ERSF)s in September 2025. The second unit, N770CK (msn 32792) remains stored at Oscoda and has not yet been inducted into service.

Both aircraft are on lease from AerCap. They were converted by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAE) and were certified by the US Federal Aviation Administration in September. Kalitta Air expects to receive up to seven B777-300(ERSF)s from AerCap with further deliveries coming over the next few weeks.

ch-aviation reached out Kalitta Air for comment, but it was not immediately available.

The IAE-developed B777-300(ERSF) variant is the first of three conversion programmes for the B777 aircraft to obtain certification and enter into service. The two other versions are under development at Mammoth Freighters and Kansas Modification Center.

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IAI, Etihad to open B777 P2F conversion site in Abu Dhabi

 Israel Aerospace Industries (Tel Aviv Ben Gurion) has partnered with Etihad Engineering, the maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) wing of Etihad Aviation Group, to open a B777-300(ER) conversion facility at Abu Dhabi Int'l airport.

"The Boeing B777-300(ER)(SF) is not only extremely attractive to customers but a technological breakthrough, given that it’s the first in its size category to offer extensive cargo solutions. Not only do we see the demand, but we view it as a greener, more profitable, highly innovative solution for our airline customers, and an excellent way to drive value for our business," the Chief Executive of Etihad Aviation Group, Tony Douglas, said.

The companies underscored that the Abraham Accords enabled the partnership, a breakthrough political agreement signed in August 2020 wherein the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain (later joined by Sudan and Morocco) normalised diplomatic ties with Israel.

Besides conversion activities, the new facility in Abu Dhabi will also function as an MRO centre for the type.

IAI is currently the world's only company that converts B777-300(ER)s into freighters. The programme, co-funded by the Israeli firm and lessor GECAS, is located at IAI's main facility at Tel Aviv Ben Gurion airport. The first B777-300(ER)(SF), N557CC (msn 32789), entered into conversion in June 2020 and is currently undergoing certification flights split between Tel Aviv and San Bernardino. It has yet to receive a supplemental type certificate ahead of its entry into service planned for 2022. While many carriers have expressed tentative interest in the type, the only confirmed customer so far is Kalitta Air (K4, Detroit Willow Run), which signed up for five B777-300(ER)(SF)s in total. The Israeli firm is authorised to convert B737-700, B737-800, B767-200, and B767-300 types. Besides Tel Aviv, it has conversion sites at México City Int'l, Yichang, Tianjin, and Naples Capodichino airports. It plans to open another B777-300(ER) conversion site at Seoul Incheon airport in 2024, a B737 conversion facility at Siauliai airport in 2022, and a B767 site at Addis Ababa airport shortly.

For its part, Etihad Airways used to operate up to twenty-five B777-300(ER)s at one time but plans to retire all remaining 19 aircraft by the end of 2021. The carrier's cargo fleet comprises five B777-200Fs, the ch-aviation fleets advanced module shows.

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