Airbus stages maiden flight of new A350F freighter

By Tim Hepher

TOULOUSE, France, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Airbus launched the maiden flight of its delayed A350F freighter on Tuesday, expanding its portfolio in a bid to break rival Boeing's grip on a vital part of global trade.

The windowless version of Europe's A350 long-haul jet eased into the sky at the start of a four-hour flight, marking the start of nine months of certification trials before entering service in 2027 and going head-to-head with Boeing's 777 series.

About a third of global trade by value travels by air, and half of that goes in purpose-built freighters rather than the belly of passenger jets. Demand for air freight is growing as conflict blocks shipping in the Gulf and AI accelerates demand for semiconductors.

After decades lagging Boeing in a profitable niche representing 10% of the global jet market, Airbus committed to an A350-based freighter in 2021, gambling that e-commerce and demand for pharmaceuticals and electronics would keep growing.

It originally targeted a four-year development with entry into service in 2025 but faced supply snags and delays to the cargo door, which Airbus says is the world's largest of its type.

Boeing has long dominated the freighter market with its 777F freighter and before that the 767 and the 747 jumbo freighter, which opened new corridors between Asia and the West.

Airbus has sold 115 A350F compared with Boeing's 81 777-8Fs, part of the delayed 777X family. Previous efforts to penetrate the freight market stumbled as an A330 version was heavily outsold by the larger 777F and an A380 freighter was axed.

Boeing sees demand for 930 dedicated freighter planes in the next 20 years. On top of that, some 2,000 planes will be converted to freighters after leaving passenger service.

(Reporting by Tim Hepher, editing by Inti Landauro, Kirsten Donovan)