777 conversion redeliveries grow to five for year with Challenge’s 2nd 777-300ERSF

Challenge Group has taken delivery of its second 777-300ERSF, with the aircraft being the fifth 777 conversion redelivery Cargo Facts has recorded this year. The 2006-vintage 777-300ERSF (33863, ex-Emirates), on lease from AerCap, departed Tel Aviv (TLV) on Aug. 25 and arrived that evening in Liege (LGG), according to flight trackers. [caption id="attachment_57298796" align="aligncenter" width="1600"] Challenge Group is one of four 777-300ERSF operators. (Courtesy/Challenge Group)[/caption] Unit 33863, which completed a post-conversion test flight at TLV on June 30 and went to Addis Ababa (ADD) for paint in July, is the third 777-300ERSF AerCap has received from IAI this year, based on Cargo Facts reporting. The first was Challenge Group’s inaugural 777-300ERSF (32795), joining the group’s fleet in February. AerCap took redelivery of the second 777-300ERSF (33862) in May and leased that aircraft to Hong Kong-based Fly Meta, which placed it with Air Atlanta Europe for CMI service in June. Including unit 33863, AerCap now has eleven 777-300ERSFs on lease: seven units to Kalitta Air and two each to Challenge Group and Fly Meta. Challenge Group did not respond to requests for comment. Two 777 passenger-to-freighter conversions not owned by AerCap also were recently redelivered. As Cargo Facts reported, Jetran took redelivery of the first 777-200LRMF converted by Mammoth Freighters at the STS Aviation Services facility in Manchester, England (MAN), this month, while Emirates took redelivery of its first 777-300ERSF in June. Mammoth expects to deliver at least two additional 777-200LRMFs by the end of the year, Vice President of Marketing and Sales Brian McCarthy told Cargo Facts . New conversion sites The number of converted 777 freighters will continue to increase this year as new conversion sites come online. In addition to IAI’s conversion facility in Tel Aviv (TLV), Ascent Aviation Services facility in Marana, Ariz. (MZJ) launched its IAI 777-300ERSF Big Twin conversion line in July with the arrival of World Star Aviation’s 2008-vintage 777-300ER (33755). Ascent opened two 90,000-square-foot hangars at MZJ last year before inducting its first aircraft for conversion. The company did not respond to requests for comment. The Sharp Technics K facility in Seoul (ICN) became the first Big Twin conversion line in the Asia-Pacific region in May when it started converting Fly Meta’s 2013-vintage unit 41818. Emirates last month sent one of its passenger 777-300ERs (32794) there to undergo conversion. The Etihad Engineering facility in Abu Dhabi (AUH) also received its first 777-300ERSF conversion candidate in July. The MRO reached an agreement with the STC holder in 2021. Meanwhile, Mammoth Freighters will expand its 777 conversion capacity to Asia with a new conversion line at a new STAECO facility in Qingdao, China (TAO), by yearend. Cargo Facts Symposium 2026, the premier event for the freighter aircraft and air cargo industries, will take place in Nashville, Tenn., on Oct. 21-23. Find out more and register by Sept. 4 to take advantage of early-bird pricing.

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