Qantas Freight will lease two Boeing 747-8F aircraft from Atlas Air to offer greater capacity and improved efficiency for customers.

According to Qantas, the freighters will be operated by Atlas and will replace the two 747-400Fs currently being operated by Atlas on behalf of Qantas.

The 747-8Fs are expected to commence services from late July 2019, carrying cargo on Qantas Freight’s existing network between 10 key cargo hubs in Australia, China and the US.

“We are seeing strong growth in demand driven by e-commerce, fresh produce, electronics and mining equipment across our international freight network,” said Andrew David, CEO of Qantas Domestic and Freight. “The newer, more efficient Boeing 747-8F will allow us to provide a better service for our customers with additional freight capacity and even greater reliability for time-sensitive shipments.”

The 747-8F features a longer fuselage than the 747-400F, offering up to 20% more freight capacity with space for seven additional pallets.

Qantas Freight has operated freighter services between Australia, China and the US for the past 15 years.

“Our investment in wet-leasing these aircraft gives us a more competitive offering in the Australia-China-US freight markets and more operational efficiency,” said David.

Qantas Freight operates a fleet of 14 freighter aircraft and manages the belly capacity on Qantas and Jetstar passenger services to over 80 destinations within Australia and more than 20 countries around the world.