737-800 conversion market diversification accelerates in 2020

• Jeff Lee
• August 14, 2020
• Aircraft, Capacity & Demand, Carriers, Conversions, Editorial, Equipment, Logistics, Narrowbody Conversions, Narrowbody Fleet Analysis, News, Strategy

In a year that has seen rising interest in 737NG conversions, at least four companies new to the model have placed orders for up to eleven 737-800Fs so far in 2020, with more yet to be disclosed or announced. The following chart shows orders for 737 family and A321 conversions since January 2019.   Many 2020 […]

Conversion outlook: How many retired 767s will end up as freighters?

• Charles Kauffman and Jeff Lee
• July 24, 2020
• Aircraft, All Posts, Capacity & Demand, Carriers, Editorial, Equipment, Express, Logistics, News, Strategy, Widebody Conversions

How many of the 280 operable 767-300ERs under age twenty-six are destined to become twenty-four pallet 767-300Fs? The pandemic may be changing the calculus.  Of the younger-vintage 767-300ERs, just 102 aircraft are currently active, according to data from ch-aviation. More than half (146) are currently in storage, twenty-six are in maintenance, and six are in conversion.   […]

Fire causes structural damage on Ethiopian 777F

• Jeff Lee
• July 22, 2020
• Aircraft, Carriers, Editorial, Equipment, News, Production Freighters

A major fire has resulted in significant damage to the upper fuselage of an Ethiopian Airlines 777F in Shanghai (PVG). The six-year-old aircraft (42031) had arrived from Brussels (BRU). According to the airline, the fire occurred while cargo was being loaded. The 777F was about to fly to Sao Paulo (GRU) and Santiago (SCL) via […]

Weekly Wrap: Widebody additions and deliveries, and the end of the 747 [VIDEO]

• Charles Kauffman and Jeff Lee
• July 10, 2020
• Editorial, Equipment, News, Video

This week, Cargo Facts reported on stories involving widebody aircraft, including: Ethiopian Airlines’ plans to add a 777F and three converted 767-300Fs; the first reconfigured A380 passenger freighter; and Lufthansa Cargo’s expected delivery of two new 777Fs in 2020. But the 747 was also in the spotlight. In the video below, editors Charles Kauffman and […]

Ethiopian to grow freighter fleet to 18

• Jeff Lee
• July 7, 2020
• Aircraft, Capacity & Demand, Carriers, Conversions, Editorial, Equipment, Exclusive, Logistics, Narrowbody Conversions, News, Production Freighters, Strategy, Widebody Conversions

Ethiopian Airlines is set to grow its cargo fleet with six more freighters. The carrier told Cargo Facts it will be adding one new 777F directly from Boeing, three freighter-converted 767Fs, and two freighter-converted 737Fs, but declined to provide an approximate timeline for their arrival. The 777F, Ethiopian’s eleventh, could be the third 777F involved in […]

Return to the skies of passengers doesn’t spell the end of passenger freighters

• Charles Kauffman and Jeff Lee
• June 22, 2020
• Aircraft, Capacity & Demand, Carriers, Conversions, Editorial, Equipment, Freighter Fleet Analysis, Logistics, Narrowbody Fleet Analysis, News, Strategy, Widebody Fleet Analysis

Even as passengers return to the skies, passenger freighters aren’t immediately headed for their demise. The uptick in passenger flights recorded from mid-June onward has not led to an immediate end to the use of passenger aircraft for cargo-only service. Although some aircraft have traded out cargo for passengers — or at least a mix […]

Reconfigured passenger-freighter fleet tops 130

• Jeff Lee
• June 9, 2020
• Aircraft, Carriers, Conversions, Editorial, Equipment, Logistics, Narrowbody Conversions, News, Strategy, Widebody Conversions

More than 130 passenger aircraft have now been reconfigured for cargo by removing seats from the main-deck cabin, according to Cargo Facts research. Meanwhile, the total number of passenger freighters, which includes aircraft that have not had seats removed, has grown to more than 1,800. Airlines that have opted to reconfigure passenger cabins have done […]

Fleeting solutions: Passenger freighters lack longevity

• Charles Kauffman and Jeff Lee
• June 8, 2020
• Aircraft, All Posts, Capacity & Demand, Carriers, Conversions, Editorial, Equipment, Features, News

[Note: All figures and information in this feature were correct as of May 30.] Just outside East Africa’s bustling Addis Ababa, Ethiopian Airlines has been toiling endlessly to modify a significant proportion of its passenger fleet to carry additional cargo. Some twenty-two reconfigured aircraft, a wide mix of fleet types ranging in size from the […]