Emirates will soon fly the world's largest twin-engine cargo plane in a landmark deal with an Israeli company

Israel Aerospace Industries' Boeing 777-300ER "Big Twin" cargo plane.Israel Aerospace Industries

• Emirates will convert four of its Boeing 777-300ER aircraft into cargo freighters.
• Israel Aerospace Industries is tasked with the conversions and is currently developing the first Boeing 777-300 Special Freighter.

Emirates is the latest customer for the soon-to-be largest twin-engine cargo plane that's currently being developed by Israel Aerospace Industries.

Emirates Airline Boeing 777 planes at are seen Dubai International Airport in Dubai      Reuters

Four of the Middle Eastern mega carrier's Boeing 777-300ER passengers aircraft will undergo the cargo conversion to become 777-300ERSF, or special freighter, aircraft starting in 2023.

Israel Aerospace Industries' Boeing 777-300ER "Big Twin" cargo plane.      Israel Aerospace Industries

Emirates' order, announced at the Dubai Airshow, will help the airline keep up with increased cargo demand and hedge against supply-chain issues affecting most industries.

Israel Aerospace Industries' Boeing 777-300ER "Big Twin" cargo plane.      Israel Aerospace Industries

"The last two years have put the spotlight on the importance of supply chain connectivity and the availability of air cargo capacity to global communities and economies," Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Emirates' chairman and chief executive officer, said in a statement.

Emirates SkyCargo Boeing 777-F.      AP Photo/Daniel Roland

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Israel Aerospace Industries is one of the leaders in converting passenger aircraft to cargo planes, with business soaring during the pandemic.

Converting a Boeing 767-300ER to a cargo plane.      Israel Aerospace Industries

Boeing hasn't yet developed its own freighter version of the popular 777-300ER as it has with the smaller 777-200 aircraft, prompting IAI to undertake the endeavor on its own.

Israel Aerospace Industries' Boeing 777-300ER "Big Twin" cargo plane.      Israel Aerospace Industries

The conversion process includes adding a cargo door to the fuselage, a rigid barrier in the cabin to protect the cockpit, and a reinforced cabin floor to hold cargo pallets instead of people.

Converting a Boeing 767-300ER to a cargo plane.      Israel Aerospace Industries

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Once certified, Ypsilanti, Michigan-based cargo carrier Kalitta Air will take the first Boeing 777-300ER. nicknamed the "Big Twin," as part of a deal with IAI and GECAS.

Israel Aerospace Industries' Boeing 777-300ER "Big Twin" cargo plane.      Israel Aerospace Industries

Converting each Boeing 777-300ER will take around 130 days, IAI told Insider.

Israel Aerospace Industries' Boeing 777-300ER "Big Twin" cargo plane.      Israel Aerospace Industries

The process can come at a cost of more than $10 million. But Emirates has the benefit of already having the jets in its fleet and doesn't have to add on aircraft acquisition costs.

Converting a Boeing 767-300ER to a cargo plane.      Israel Aerospace Industries

Emirates will fly the plane under its SkyCargo division, which transports freight throughout the world from its base in Dubai, at a time when air freight is commanding a premium.

Emirates

The pandemic and the container ship crisis have highlighted the benefits of air cargo and freight airlines have been scrambling to keep up.

Israel Aerospace Industries' Boeing 777-300ER "Big Twin" cargo plane.      Israel Aerospace Industries

Air cargo experienced a shipping crisis of its own at the start of the pandemic when passenger airlines largely cut back on their flying. "[Freighters] kept the world moving when all the commercial passenger business was down," Yossi Melamed, general manager of the Aviation Group of Israel Aerospace Industries, told Insider.

Converting a Boeing 767-300ER to a cargo plane.      Israel Aerospace Industries

Some retired passenger jets, of which there are many as airlines leaned their fleets during the pandemic, found second lives in the cargo realm as a result.

Pinal Airpark in Marana, Arizona.      Thomas Pallini/Insider

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The surge in demand for converted cargo planes has caused a multi-year backlog for firms like IAI thanks not only to cargo airlines but new entrants like Amazon's Prime Air.

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A new customer looking to convert an aircraft at present can expect to be waiting until 2023 for a slot, as IAI told Insider in February that conversion slots were booked through 2022 at the time.

Converting a Boeing 737 to a cargo plane.      Israel Aerospace Industries

And while most of the planes being converted are second-hand, manufacturers like Boeing can still reap the benefits.

A Boeing 737-800BCF.      Boeing

Boeing has announced that three new conversion lines will open in the UK and Canada, with an order for 11 aircraft to be converted at the new facilities already signed with Icelease.

Boeing's new conversion site at London's Gatwick Airport.      Boeing

Source: Boeing

The Emirates and IAI deal also represents a milestone in Middle East relations. Such a deal between an Israeli company and a UAE company would not have been possible even just two years ago before the Abraham Accords of 2020.

The first flight between Israel and the United Arab Emirates.      KARIM SAHIB/AFP/Getty

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Israel and the UAE are in a state of normalized relations that see the exchange of trade, commerce, diplomacy, tourism, and more between the two nations. At the Dubai Airshow, an Israeli delegation is displaying its innovations for the first time in the UAE.

The first flight between Israel and the United Arab Emirates.      KARIM SAHIB/AFP./Getty

Most passenger aircraft have freighter variants but converting the 777-300ER is proving to be unlike IAI's conversions in the past.

Israel Aerospace Industries' Boeing 777-300ER "Big Twin" cargo plane.      Israel Aerospace Industries

"The 777 is different than the 747 and 767, for example, as it's a more modern aircraft," Rafi Matalon, IAI's executive vice president of marketing, told Insider. "It's a challenge but based on our very strong engineering capability for the last 60 years, we are solving the problems."

Israel Aerospace Industries' Boeing 777-300ER "Big Twin" cargo plane.      Israel Aerospace Industries

But the investment is justified as the demand is there and airlines will lose the world's largest cargo plane in production once Boeing delivers its final 747 freighter.

Israel Aerospace Industries' Boeing 777-300ER "Big Twin" cargo plane.      Israel Aerospace Industries

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IAI plans to achieve certification for the Big Twin in 2022 with Emirates' conversions starting soon after at Etihad Engineering's maintenance, repair, and overhaul facility in Abu Dhabi.

Israel Aerospace Industries' Boeing 777-300ER "Big Twin" cargo plane.      Israel Aerospace Industries