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Silk Way West orders extra 777 freighter from Boeing

Airline operates 14 widebody cargo jets from base in Azerbaijan

Eric Kulisch
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Silk Way West Airlines operates two Boeing 777 freighters. (Photo: Silk Way West)

Azerbaijan-based Silk Way West Airlines said Monday it has added a sixth 777 freighter to its order from Boeing.

The all-cargo carrier has received two of five Boeing 777 freighters it committed to purchase in 2021. The new order is scheduled for delivery in 2025, and the rest are expected to arrive by 2027.

Silk Way West also has ordered two next-generation 777-8 freighters, which aren’t scheduled for delivery until the end of the decade, as well as two large A350 freighters from Airbus. The 777-8 must still be tested and certified. The Airbus planes won’t be ready until 2027 and 2028.

The 777 freighter has a range of 5,700 miles and a maximum designed payload of 236,000 pounds, which allows the plane to make fewer stops and save on landing fees on long-haul routes.


In addition to the two 777s, Silk Way West operates 12 Boeing 747-400 and 747-8 cargo jets to more than 40 destinations around the world from its centrally located base in Baku.

Silk Way West is expanding its fleet even as the air cargo sector recovers from a 16-month downturn. Medium-to-long-term forecasts call for 3.5% to 4% compound annual growth in airfreight volumes.

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Eric Kulisch

Eric is the Supply Chain and Air Cargo Editor at FreightWaves. An award-winning business journalist with extensive experience covering the logistics sector, Eric spent nearly two years as the Washington, D.C., correspondent for Automotive News, where he focused on regulatory and policy issues surrounding autonomous vehicles, mobility, fuel economy and safety. He has won two regional Gold Medals and a Silver Medal from the American Society of Business Publication Editors for government and trade coverage, and news analysis. He was voted best for feature writing and commentary in the Trade/Newsletter category by the D.C. Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. He won Environmental Journalist of the Year from the Seahorse Freight Association in 2014 and was the group's 2013 Supply Chain Journalist of the Year. In December 2022, Eric was voted runner up for Air Cargo Journalist by the Seahorse Freight Association. As associate editor at American Shipper Magazine for more than a decade, he wrote about trade, freight transportation and supply chains. He has appeared on Marketplace, ABC News and National Public Radio to talk about logistics issues in the news. Eric is based in Vancouver, Washington. He can be reached for comments and tips at [email protected]