Japanese cargo airline to buy three Boeing freighters

Japanese cargo airline to buy three Boeing freighters    Nippon Cargo Airlines, Japan’s only all-cargo air carrier, ordered three new Boeing 747-400 freighters to replace older aircraft in its fleet, according to Boeing. The planes will enter service in 2005 and 2006 on the Tokyo-based airlines’ European and North American routes.
   Nippon Cargo Airlines, whose principal shareholders include All Nippon Airways and vessel operator Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, operates 10 747-200 freighters and one 747-100 freighter.
   The 747-400F comes with a front-end nose door and can carry a maximum payload of 120 tons, 25 tons more cargo than the 747-200.
   Nippon Cargo also is considering acquiring used 747-400s that have been specially modified to carry cargo, Boeing said.