El Al Eyes New Freighter In 2023 Ahead Of Narrowbody Fleet Renewal

A narrowbody freighter is likely to arrive in the second quarter of next year.


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Israeli flag carrier El Al is looking to acquire a freighter aircraft as it moves ahead with its fleet renewal drive. The airline has not specified which aircraft type, but is aiming to induct a dedicated cargo plane during the second quarter of 2023.

El Al looking for narrowbody freighter

El Al has revealed it will welcome a dedicated freighter aircraft to its fleet next year. The airline has already signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a foreign lessor to dry-lease a freighter, although it has not firmed up this agreement thus far.

In its latest financial statement, El Al said the aircraft would be a narrowbody but didn't reveal which type - however, it will almost certainly be a Boeing freighter for the all-Boeing airline, making the Boeing 737-800BCF the likeliest candidate. Simple Flying took a closer look at the rise of the Boeing 737-800 freighter fleet worldwide, noting that it has doubled from 59 aircraft in 2021 to 113 aircraft in 2022.

Things are looking up for El Al after it recorded a USD 66 million profit over Q3 2022, adding that it has now repaid a USD 45 million loan received from the Israeli government, leading auditors to remove a going concern warning. The airline's load factor exceeded 87% for the quarter, a huge improvement on the 70% recorded in Q3 2021.

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Freighter license amended

As reported by FlightGlobal, El Al was in danger of losing its freighter license as it failed to meet the requirement of operating at least two dedicated freighters. Fortunately, an amendment passed in October will allow the airline to retain its cargo license with just a single freighter in operation.

At the time, El Al was wet-leasing cargo capacity via a San Marino-registered Airbus A300-600F. The airline added that it will continue to offer cargo capacity in the belly of its passenger aircraft.

Accelerating narrowbody renewal

El Al will press ahead with its fleet renewal plans following a profitable last quarter. The airline currently has 24 narrowbodies - 16 737-800s and eight 737-900ERs - with an average age approaching 15 years old, and is considering wet-leasing additional capacity to cope with rising demand.

However, according to Planespotters.net, seven of these narrowbodies are over 20 years old. The majority of its older 737-800s are on lease, while its younger 737-900ERs are all owned by the carrier. FlightGlobal reports that 21 of its Boeing 737s are in active service, with three aircraft in storage.

While the carrier is accelerating its narrowbody fleet renewal, its plans for its widebody fleet have been set back a tad. The airline will reintroduce its aging Boeing 777-200 fleet to service next year following refurbishments, with two of six 777 aircraft already flying.

Additionally, it has pushed back the delivery of its final Boeing 787 Dreamliner from Q1 2023 to Q3 2023 and will delay plans to welcome further Dreamliners until the first half of 2024 at the earliest.