China’s 737-800BCF fleet grows to 50

Chinese carriers now have fifty 737-800BCFs after Shandong Airlines took redelivery of a 2007-vintage aircraft from Boeing last week. The 737-800BCF (36190) was previously part of Shandong’s passenger fleet and arrived at the STAECO facility in Jinan (TNA) in April for conversion. [caption id="attachment_57290850" align="aligncenter" width="2213"] Shandong previously operated unit 36190 in passenger service. (Courtesy/Boeing)[/caption] Shandong will soon take redelivery of another 737-800BCF (33665), a 2005-vintage unit that completed a post-conversion test flight at TNA on Aug. 7. The carrier converted its first 737-800BCF (33660) from its own passenger feedstock in 2022 and received that aircraft in August 2022 before adding two more 737-800BCFs (33661 and 33664) to its fleet in 2023. STAECO is the largest conversion site for Boeing and has converted more than 100 737-800BCFs . Largest 737-800BCF domicile China is home to the largest population of 737-800BCFs. The first 737-800BCF in the country entered service with China Postal Airlines in August 2019 after Boeing’s narrowbody conversion program received regulatory approval from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) in December 2018. China Postal added a second unit in September that year. China Postal, the largest Chinese operator of 737-800Fs with eighteen, acquired a 2010-vintage 737-800BCF (36545, ex-Air China) from China-based Central Airlines in the first quarter. Tianjin Air Cargo, an HNA Group subsidiary, also entered the 737-800F market in 2019 when it took delivery of a 2002-vintage 737-800BCF (32602) on lease from Spectre Air Capital and began operating it in October 2019. Air Central, previously known as Zhongyuan Longhao Airlines, became the third Chinese carrier to add a 737-800 freighter, taking delivery of its first 737-800BCF (28608, ex-Air Italy) on lease from BBAM in 2020. Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com and its logistics arm, JD Logistics, set up their own in-house airline, JD Airlines, and obtained an AOC from the CAAC in 2022. The new carrier launched service with two 737-800BCFs and has since become the second-largest 737NG freighter operator in China with ten 737-800BCFs . In 2022, Central Airlines also added the 737-800BCF to its fleet when it leased its first aircraft , the 2002-vintage unit 30420 (ex-SunExpress), from BBAM. The carrier leased another 737-800BCF (35224, ex-SpiceJet) from ICBC Leasing and two ex-Jeju Air units (32694 and 32683) from AerCap in 2023. China’s most recent operator of Boeing-converted narrowbody freighters is SF Airlines, which purchased a 2007-vintage 737-800BCF (30718, ex-Shanghai Airlines) from AerCap in December 2024 and a 2006-vintage unit (33006, ex-China Southern) in March. The fifty 737-800BCFs in China are spread across seven carriers: China Postal Airlines with eighteen; JD Airlines with has ten; Air Central with six; Tianjin Air Cargo with five; Shandong Airlines with four; Central Airlines with four; SF Airlines with two 737-800BCFs; and Xiamen Airlines with one. Cargo Facts Symposium, the quintessential event for stakeholders and key leaders in the global freighter and air cargo industries, will take place Oct. 22-24 at the Grand Hyatt in Nashville . Learn more and register today to take advantage of the early-bird rate before Sept. 5.

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