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Freighter Aircraft Guide
Every cargo aircraft in Tailwinds compared: payload, range, lease cost and fuel burn. Build a profitable cargo network alongside your passenger airline.
Cargo is a different business with different rules. Freighters fly payload, not passengers: no catering, no loyalty points, no reputation dance — just tonnes, lanes, and yield. A well-built cargo network is steady, high-margin income that keeps earning even when passenger demand wobbles.
Because these aircraft carry no seats, the comparison metric changes: what matters is payload tonnes against trip cost over the lanes you actually fly. Small feeders move parcels into your hub; big intercontinental freighters move serious tonnage between major economies.
How to choose
Start small. A regional freighter on a short, proven lane teaches you cargo pricing at minimal risk. Converted passenger jets (BCF/P2F types) are the mid-market value play — cheap to lease, decent payload. Purpose-built giants like the 747F only pay off on dense long-haul trade lanes with tonnage to fill them, but when they work, nothing else comes close.
All 23 aircraft at a glance
Figures are the game's actual values. Fuel cost assumes the base fuel price of $1.20/litre — the live market price in your save drifts between roughly half and nearly double that, which is why fuel hedging matters.
| Aircraft | Payload | Range | Lease/wk | Price | Fuel/100km | Fuel/tonne-km |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ATR 72-600F | 9 t | 1,500 km | $45K | $26M | 119 L | 15.8¢ |
| Embraer E190F | 13 t | 4,500 km | $36K | $17M | 285 L | 26.3¢ |
| Boeing 737-300F | 18 t | 3,400 km | $17K | $8M | 410 L | 27.3¢ |
| Boeing 737-400F | 20 t | 3,500 km | $21K | $10M | 400 L | 24.0¢ |
| Antonov An-12 | 20 t | 3,600 km | $9K | $4M | 504 L | 30.2¢ |
| Boeing 737-800BCF | 23 t | 3,750 km | $43K | $20M | 381 L | 19.9¢ |
| Boeing 727-200F | 26 t | 3,500 km | $9K | $4M | 600 L | 27.7¢ |
| Airbus A321P2F | 28 t | 4,300 km | $70K | $32M | 290 L | 12.4¢ |
| Boeing 757-200PF | 39 t | 5,800 km | $34K | $16M | 460 L | 14.2¢ |
| Boeing 767-200SF | 42 t | 6,000 km | $38K | $18M | 600 L | 17.1¢ |
| Boeing 767-300F | 52 t | 6,025 km | $175K | $110M | 594 L | 13.7¢ |
| Douglas DC-8-73F | 53 t | 9,000 km | $13K | $6M | 1026 L | 23.2¢ |
| Airbus A300-600F | 54 t | 7,400 km | $53K | $25M | 790 L | 17.6¢ |
| Airbus A330-200F | 70 t | 7,400 km | $217K | $125M | 625 L | 10.7¢ |
| McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30F | 78 t | 5,900 km | $21K | $10M | 978 L | 15.0¢ |
| McDonnell Douglas MD-11F | 91 t | 7,300 km | $64K | $30M | 932 L | 12.3¢ |
| Boeing 777F | 102 t | 9,200 km | $300K | $185M | 781 L | 9.2¢ |
| Airbus A350F | 109 t | 8,700 km | $360K | $210M | 720 L | 7.9¢ |
| Boeing 747-400F | 112 t | 8,230 km | $85K | $40M | 1150 L | 12.3¢ |
| Boeing 777-8F | 112 t | 8,200 km | $380K | $200M | 770 L | 8.3¢ |
| Antonov An-124-100 Ruslan | 120 t | 5,400 km | $254K | $120M | 1568 L | 15.7¢ |
| Boeing 747-8F | 137 t | 8,130 km | $381K | $180M | 1183 L | 10.4¢ |
| Antonov An-225 Mriya | 250 t | 4,000 km | $635K | $300M | 2183 L | 10.5¢ |
Type-by-type notes
ATR 72-600F
Purpose-built regional freighter. Feeds parcels and express cargo into hubs on thin short-haul lanes where a widebody would never fill.
Cargo efficiency: #14 of 23 freighters (15.8¢ per tonne-km at base fuel price). Weekly lease per payload tonne: $5,000.
Embraer E190F
Regional jet converted to freight — fills the gap below narrowbody cargo aircraft.
Cargo efficiency: #20 of 23 freighters (26.3¢ per tonne-km at base fuel price). Weekly lease per payload tonne: $2,769.
Boeing 737-300F
Earlier classic-737 freighter conversion for short-haul express networks.
Cargo efficiency: #21 of 23 freighters (27.3¢ per tonne-km at base fuel price). Weekly lease per payload tonne: $944.
Boeing 737-400F
Classic 737 converted to carry parcels — ubiquitous regional cargo hauler.
Cargo efficiency: #19 of 23 freighters (24.0¢ per tonne-km at base fuel price). Weekly lease per payload tonne: $1,050.
Antonov An-12
Rugged Soviet turboprop freighter with a rear ramp for outsize and rough-field cargo.
Cargo efficiency: #23 of 23 freighters (30.2¢ per tonne-km at base fuel price). Weekly lease per payload tonne: $425.
Boeing 737-800BCF
Passenger-to-freighter conversion of the best-selling 737-800. The workhorse of e-commerce and express networks on domestic and short regional cargo routes.
Cargo efficiency: #17 of 23 freighters (19.9¢ per tonne-km at base fuel price). Weekly lease per payload tonne: $1,848.
Boeing 727-200F
Tri-jet freighter that powered overnight express in the 1980s-90s.
Cargo efficiency: #22 of 23 freighters (27.7¢ per tonne-km at base fuel price). Weekly lease per payload tonne: $327.
Airbus A321P2F
Passenger-to-freighter A321 — efficient narrowbody capacity for e-commerce growth.
Cargo efficiency: #9 of 23 freighters (12.4¢ per tonne-km at base fuel price). Weekly lease per payload tonne: $2,500.
Boeing 757-200PF
Narrowbody express freighter — the backbone of integrators like UPS and FedEx.
Cargo efficiency: #11 of 23 freighters (14.2¢ per tonne-km at base fuel price). Weekly lease per payload tonne: $872.
Boeing 767-200SF
Special-freighter 767-200 conversion — a favorite of Amazon Air feeder fleets.
Cargo efficiency: #15 of 23 freighters (17.1¢ per tonne-km at base fuel price). Weekly lease per payload tonne: $905.
Boeing 767-300F
The backbone of express and mid-haul cargo. FedEx and UPS fly hundreds; ideal medium-widebody capacity for transcontinental and regional intercontinental freight.
Cargo efficiency: #10 of 23 freighters (13.7¢ per tonne-km at base fuel price). Weekly lease per payload tonne: $3,365.
Douglas DC-8-73F
Re-engined long-range DC-8 freighter, valued for trans-ocean cargo runs.
Cargo efficiency: #18 of 23 freighters (23.2¢ per tonne-km at base fuel price). Weekly lease per payload tonne: $236.
Airbus A300-600F
Widebody freighter workhorse — FedEx's most numerous type for years.
Cargo efficiency: #16 of 23 freighters (17.6¢ per tonne-km at base fuel price). Weekly lease per payload tonne: $981.
Airbus A330-200F
Modern purpose-built mid-size freighter. Better fuel economics than the 767F with more payload, suited to medium and long-haul cargo trunk routes.
Cargo efficiency: #6 of 23 freighters (10.7¢ per tonne-km at base fuel price). Weekly lease per payload tonne: $3,093.
McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30F
Converted tri-jet freighter with long legs and a big main deck.
Cargo efficiency: #12 of 23 freighters (15.0¢ per tonne-km at base fuel price). Weekly lease per payload tonne: $269.
McDonnell Douglas MD-11F
Tri-jet freighter prized by cargo carriers long after passenger MD-11s retired.
Cargo efficiency: #7 of 23 freighters (12.3¢ per tonne-km at base fuel price). Weekly lease per payload tonne: $698.
Boeing 777F
The definitive modern long-haul freighter. Near-jumbo payload with twin-engine economics — the choice for ultra-long intercontinental cargo trunk routes.
Cargo efficiency: #3 of 23 freighters (9.2¢ per tonne-km at base fuel price). Weekly lease per payload tonne: $2,941.
Airbus A350F
Purpose-built widebody freighter on the A350 airframe — large main-deck door, efficient engines.
Cargo efficiency: #1 of 23 freighters (7.9¢ per tonne-km at base fuel price). Weekly lease per payload tonne: $3,303.
Boeing 747-400F
The Queen of the cargo skies. Nose-loading door swallows outsize freight; maximum payload on the densest cargo corridors, at the cost of four thirsty engines.
Cargo efficiency: #8 of 23 freighters (12.3¢ per tonne-km at base fuel price). Weekly lease per payload tonne: $754.
Boeing 777-8F
Next-generation 777X freighter — the new flagship of the long-haul cargo fleet.
Cargo efficiency: #2 of 23 freighters (8.3¢ per tonne-km at base fuel price). Weekly lease per payload tonne: $3,393.
Antonov An-124-100 Ruslan
Soviet-era strategic heavylifter. Cheap to acquire and able to swallow outsize loads through its nose and tail doors, but four thirsty D-18T engines and a short max-payload range make it a specialist, not a trunk-route workhorse.
Cargo efficiency: #13 of 23 freighters (15.7¢ per tonne-km at base fuel price). Weekly lease per payload tonne: $2,117.
Boeing 747-8F
The largest production freighter in the world. GEnx engines and a stretched upper deck give it more payload than the -400F with markedly better fuel burn per tonne — the modern flagship of dedicated cargo fleets.
Cargo efficiency: #4 of 23 freighters (10.4¢ per tonne-km at base fuel price). Weekly lease per payload tonne: $2,781.
Antonov An-225 Mriya
The legend. Six engines, the highest payload of any aircraft ever flown, and a cargo hold built to carry the Buran shuttle. A halo machine for ultra-heavy outsize loads — staggering capability, ruinous economics, and only ever viable on the densest special-cargo corridors.
Cargo efficiency: #5 of 23 freighters (10.5¢ per tonne-km at base fuel price). Weekly lease per payload tonne: $2,538.