Pratt-powered 767F fleet set to more than double

The Pratt-powered 767-300F fleet is on a trajectory to more than double over the next couple of years. It has been over two years since the last 767-300F with Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engines was redelivered, with a 767-300BCF (35155, ex-Shanghai Airlines) joining the SF Airlines in March 2019. Since then, the global Pratt-powered 767F fleet has stood at nine units. That is about to change as thirteen passenger units with the engine type are being converted to freighter configuration, Pratt & Whitney told Cargo Facts . [caption id="attachment_415236" align="alignright" width="560"] CAM has acquired an ex-Air Canada 767-300ER with Pratt & Whitney engines. (Photo/Air Canada)[/caption] The shortage of green-time engines — those with a few thousand cycles remaining without needing further maintenance — paired with a recent wave of Pratt-powered 767-300ER retirements has both new and established 767 players looking at the type. On June 21, Cargo Aircraft Management (CAM), the leasing subsidiary of Air Transport Services Group (ATSG), acquired an ex-Air Canada 767-300ER (25585) [FAT 006342]. The aircraft is the first Pratt-powered 767-300ER CAM has acquired in recent years and signals the lessor’s openness to the engine type. CAM told Cargo Facts that freighter-converted 767s equipped with PW4000 engines are “very leasable” and confirmed that its carrier affiliate ABX Air already operates three Pratt-powered 767-300BDSFs. Although CAM said it would be open to growing its PW4000 fleet, it declined to quantify the number of 767-300ER feedstock units with Pratt engines it planned to acquire. For now, CAM continues to acquire airframes with General Electric CF6 engines, the dominant engine type across the 767-300 platform and especially so for freighters. CAM also acquired an ex-Delta 763-300ER (25241) with GE engines on June 21 [FAT 006341]. "The 767 market right now wants green-time engines,” said Zaffar Razzaq, head of cargo operators at Pratt & Whitney. “Because everything out there with the potential to fly is in service.” A newcomer to 767F operations, China-based YTO Cargo Airlines, is also in the process of converting two 767-300ERs (33424 and 33423, both ex-Air Canada) to BDSF freighter configuration with Israel Aerospace Industries, both of which are Pratt-powered. Compared to the modest PW4000 767-300 freighter fleet, there are more than 350 GE-powered 767 freighters in service, including 232 production freighters, seventy-nine 767-300BDSFs and forty-one 767-300BCFs, according to ch-aviation. While increased feedstock options come as welcome news for carriers and lessors utilizing the type, on-ramp costs for freighter-converted 767-300Fs in today’s environment are “very similar” to the prices paid prior to the pandemic, according to ATSG. Nor is the additional powerplant option expected to influence engine values. Olga Razzhivina, director of aircraft appraisal firm Oriel, told Cargo Facts the willingness of cargo operators to add Pratt-Powered 767s is unlikely to have much of an effect on GE CF6 engine values. “Pratt engines are even more limited for the 767 as the production freighters are all GE-powered,” she said. Tight availability for both engine types may see some relief as 747s, which share the same engine type aircraft, are removed from service. P&W is optimistic that retirements of mid-life 767s and 747-400s will continue to increase the supply of PW4000 engines with green time remaining. Unlike the CF6, which is still in production for the new-build 767-300 freighter, the fleet of PW4000s is in service with older 767s and 747s. “In the next three to five years, there are a lot of 747s that will retire. You get four engines out of a 747, so green-time engines will become available in the next three to five years,” said Razzaq. Cargo Facts Symposium, taking place LIVE October 25-27 at the Wynn Las Vegas, is the essential event for stakeholders in the air cargo industry. Learn more and register at www.cargofactssymposium.com .

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