Air Canada converts aircraft to address COVID-19 crisis

[caption id="attachment_413681" align="alignright" width="460"] The newly reconfigured 777-300ERs have signs indicating the cargo loading areas and their weight limits. (Photo: Air Canada)[/caption] (Note: This story first appeared on our sister site, www.aircargoworld.com , earlier this week.) Air Canada is expanding its cargo capacity during the COVID-19 crisis by removing seats from the passenger cabins of three 777-300ERs. Two aircraft have already begun flying in this freighter configuration and the third will be completed soon. “Bringing critical medical and other vital supplies rapidly to Canada and helping distribute them across the country is imperative to combating the COVID-19 crisis,” said Tim Strauss, vice president of cargo at Air Canada. “The transformation of the Boeing 777-300ERs, our largest international widebody aircraft, doubles the capacity of each flight and will enable more goods to move more quickly.” Since March 22, Air Canada has operated more than forty cargo-only flights on its passenger 777s and 787s. According to Air Canada, each reconfigured 777-300ER is capable of carrying almost 90 tonnes of cargo — the equivalent of approximately 9 million medical masks. The conversion work is carried out at Avianor, an aircraft cabin and maintenance specialist based in Montreal-Mirabel (YMX), which removed 398 economy seats and twenty-four in premium economy from each aircraft, leaving only twenty-eight business class seats between doors 1 and 2. Cargo loading zones have instead been designated and marked on the floor for restrained lightweight boxes containing medical supplies. “The rapid transformation of some of our aircraft to meet cargo demand reflects our ability to maximize our fleet assets quickly when these aircraft would otherwise be parked,” said Richard Steer, senior vice president of operations at Air Canada. “Air Canada’s engineering team worked around the clock to oversee the conversion work, and with Transport Canada to ensure all work was certified as tasks were completed.” The first aircraft to be completed (41525) left the YMX facility April 8, and has since flown exclusively between Toronto (YYZ) and Shanghai (PVG) via Tokyo (NRT). The second aircraft (43251) headed to YMX April 8 and departed April 12, flying the same route to PVG. Air Canada currently only has two other 777-300ERs at YMX (35298 and 43249). Lufthansa recently also announced that it planned to remove seats from at least four passenger aircraft to transport cargo between Germany and China. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will soon issue guidance allowing U.S. airlines to carry cargo in passenger cabins, according to published reports.

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Air Canada converts aircraft to address COVID-19 crisis

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Narrowbody fleet shaped by feedstock and FAA constraints

The first A350 freighters?

Related Posts

August transactions underline strength of conversion market

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