Narrowbody fleet, Part III

Last week we began a three-part analysis of the worldwide narrowbody freighter fleet with a look at who is operating the 546 freighters of nine main types in the fleet. Yesterday we continued by breaking down the fleet in three ways: type-by-type, by end user, and by geographical region. Today, we will conclude with look at who has converted what in 2014, and offer a forecast of the conversion scene for 2015.

We encourage those interested in the conversion and operation of narrowbody freighters to join us at the Cargo Facts Aircraft Symposium in Miami next week, 22 – 24 October, where senior executives from three conversion houses (AEI, PEMCO, and Precision), a lessor (Kahala Aviation), and an operator (Northern Aviation Services) will participate in a session titled “The Narrowbody Freighter Boom.” For more information, or to register, visit the Symposium website.

We close with a look at the state of conversion activity, both current and for the immediate future.

The chart at right shows our summary of narrowbody conversions redelivered and scheduled for redelivery in 2014, as well as our forecast for conversions likely to be redelivered next year.

As mentioned in yesterday’s post, the MD-80F will remain a niche freighter, but demand for P-to-F conversion of 757-200s, 737-400s, and 737‑300s will remain strong in the near-to-medium term. And looking ahead, the 737NGs, the A320 Family will soon have their day.

See you in Miami!