6 new conversion sites announced in 2023

Freighter conversion providers have continued to diversify in 2023 and expand the MRO locations they use to provide touch labor, even as conversion orders appear to have slowed compared to 2022. Here are the six new jet freighter conversion sites announced this year. Of these MRO facilities, only one is already a conversion center for a different model. 1. Ascent Aviation Services, United States IAI’s 777-300ERSF program is set to start its first conversion line in the United States in 2024, with Ascent Aviation Services telling Cargo Facts that it is building two new hangars at its facility in Marana, Ariz. (MZJ). IAI has now completed two 777-300ERSFs and expects to obtain certification soon. The company previously said it would also launch conversion lines for the type in Abu Dhabi (AUH) and Seoul (ICN). 2. GCAM, China [caption id="attachment_56866537" align="alignright" width="350"] GCAM will start its first 737-800SF conversion in 2024. (Courtesy/HNA Technic)[/caption] AEI has previously used STAECO and HAECO Xiamen in China, along with other facilities in the United States, for its 737-800SF conversions, but the company will add another Chinese site for the program next year as part of a deal with Grand China Aviation Maintenance , a subsidiary of HNA Aviation Technic. At least three 737-800s belonging to HNA Group will undergo conversion there, with the first induction set to take place in the first quarter of 2024, AEI told Cargo Facts in July. 3. GMR Aero Technic, India Boeing this year announced two new locations for its 737-800BCF program as it continues to ramp up output. The first was the GMR Aero Technic facility in Hyderabad (HYD). Boeing declined to provide a rough timeline for starting conversions at HYD. India is home to four active 737-800BCFs, two each with Quikjet and Blue Dart. 4. Haite, China EFW said early in 2023 that it would launch an A320/A321P2F conversion line at the Haite facility in Tianjin (TSN), adding to its lines in the Asia-Pacific region in Guangzhou (CAN) and Singapore (XSP). [caption id="attachment_56866538" align="alignleft" width="350"] Haite began working on its first A321P2F conversion in 2023. (Courtesy/EFW)[/caption] The first aircraft (1707, ex-Red Wings) arrived in August and reached the door-cutting milestone in September. The 2002-vintage A321 belongs to Juniper Aviation Investments. This marks Haite’s first time converting an Airbus; the MRO also provides touch labor for IAI’s 737-700BDSF and -800BDSF programs. 5. JORAMCO, Jordan The second Boeing conversion line announced in 2023 was the JORAMCO facility in Amman (AMM), which will be the planemaker’s first conversion site in the Middle East. JORAMCO became a subsidiary of Dubai Aerospace Enterprise in 2016. 6. SMECO, China [caption id="attachment_56866536" align="alignright" width="350"] SMECO has already completed its first A321PCF. (Courtesy/SAID)[/caption] 321 Precision Conversions this year revealed a deal to open a conversion site at SMECO, a joint venture of Sichuan Airlines Group, Sichuan Haite High-Tech, HAECO and HAECO Xiamen. Since then, the SMECO facility in Chengdu (CTU) has completed the first conversion. It only took about 180 days to do so, which Precision said is the fastest for a prototype at a new conversion facility. The first aircraft (1926, ex-Air Macau) will soon begin service with Sichuan Airlines. The CAAC validated Precision’s STC for the A321PCF in October. Cargo Facts EMEA 2024, the essential event for stakeholders in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, will take place Feb. 5-7 in Amsterdam. Learn more and register now .

6 new conversion sites announced in 2023

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