Nanjing aviation project to launch IAI’s 777 P2F program?

Update 14 May: After this article was published, IAI later confirmed it "does not have a contract with anyone regarding a 777 cargo conversion program," but did not elaborate regarding any ongoing discussions with potential partners. After years of evaluating the potential for a passenger-to-freighter conversion program for the 777 airframe (see our first mention from 2011, here ), the pieces for Israel-based IAI’s 777 passenger-to-freighter conversion program are starting to fall into place. Today, Nanjing’s Jiangning Development Zone announced a $1.7 billion (RMB 11.8 million) multi-phase aviation project that includes developing a supplemental type certificate (STC) for 777 p-to-f conversion, and constructing a large MRO facility at Nanjing Airport (NKG) to handle engine maintenance projects and, later, p-to-f conversions and other widebody maintenance projects. Two Beijing-based companies with no known experience developing a conversion program will provide initial funding for the project – which would make for a steep learning curve where it not for the fact that IAI is expected to offer up its technical expertise, according to a release from the Development Zone. The scope of IAI’s collaboration beyond STC development is not yet clear, but the Israeli conglomerate is certainly experienced in the types of airframe and engine maintenance projects Nanjing would like to bring to the facility. Kunlun Aerospace and Beijing Ruihe Xinye Investment Co., Ltd., meanwhile, will finance the three-phase project. Regarding the 777 STC itself, technical details and a timeline for the program’s development were sparse. Cargo Facts has long believed the 777-300ER is a better candidate for conversion primarily due to the larger fuselage – which would have greater appeal to the express carriers that would likely operate a freighter-converted 777. It remains difficult, however, to make a strong case for carrying denser general cargo with a converted-777. Although -300ER feedstock is currently in limited, the situation is expected to change over the next three to five years as deliveries of the 777-X commence, and as A350 deliveries continue. Few carriers have publicly expressed interest in a freighter-converted 777, but this could be changing – particularly as few options exist for replacing aging widebody freighters. During a panel discussion on the passenger-to-freighter conversion market at Cargo Facts Asia last month, Alvey Pratt, Director, Boeing Converted Freighters & Complex Modifications, Boeing Global Services, another company actively exploring 777 conversions, noted that interest has grown from customers approaching the OEM to discuss 777-300ER conversions. Stakeholders in the Nanjing project, meanwhile, are very bullish on the prospects for a conversion program. Wang Chen, Investment Director, Beijing Ruihe Xinye Investment Co., told Civil Aviation Resource Network News he expected the facility to convert twenty-four 777Fs per year once it was operational. Such a figure seems like quite a stretch based on conversion numbers we’ve seen for previous widebody programs (even in the current heyday of 767 conversions, neither Boeing nor Bedek has managed to convert more than 24 per year), not to mention, market demand. Still, the figure gives some insight into the expected size of the MRO facility.

Nanjing aviation project to launch IAI’s 777 P2F program?

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