Singapore - Singapore's only privately-owned cargo airline has started replacing its ageing Boeing 747-200Fs with newer generation and more fuel efficient aircraft, a news report said on Saturday.

Jett8 Airlines Cargo has signed a one-year lease agreement for a B747-400 extended range freighter with Shenzhen-based Jade Cargo International, said The Business Times.

"Our B747-200Fs will progressively be phased out of their Singapore operations, due to high aviation fuel prices, and will be redeployed on routes based elsewhere where cargo yield is higher," founder and chief executive Louis Tan was quoted as saying.

The deal "enables us to start a smooth B747-400 fleet rollover within the next two years," he said.

The newly acquired aircraft will initially be deployed on Jett8's routes from Singapore to Amsterdam; Malmoe, Sweden; Bangalore, India; Chennai, India; and Hong Kong.

The airline also flies to various other Asian, Middle Eastern and European destinations. (dpa)