Resurgence seen in 737-300 P-to-F conversions

This week, a 737-300QC (28054, ex-Mistral Air) was ferried to San Jose, Costa Rica (SJO), where it was inducted for conversion to full-freighter configuration at the COOPESA facility by PEMCO. In the coming months, carriers in Latin America and Asia are planning to add more of the 737-300F fleet type. The -300QC induction follows a […]

• Charles Kauffman
• May 7, 2019

737 Classics may still have a role to play in 727F fleet modernization

With deliveries of “third generation” narrowbody conversions, to which the 737 NGs and A320/21 family programs belong, beginning to accelerate, it’s easy to juxtapose the new generation of narrowbody freighters with the 737 Classics and lose sight of the first generation of narrowbody freighters: 727Fs. As 737-400 feedstock dwindles, will 737-300s see a resurgence as […]

• Charles Kauffman
• April 12, 2019

Freighter aircraft transactions through mid-February

Every week in Cargo Facts Update, we include a list of recent freighter aircraft transactions, and then a comprehensive summary in the monthly issue of Cargo Facts. Each reference to a freighter aircraft transaction (FAT) in our publications contains a unique FAT code linked to the FAT database on the CargoFacts.com website. This database is available to […]

• Caryn Livingston
• February 18, 2019

CF EMEA 2019: PEMCO announces 737-700F launch customer

FRANKFURT – Today at the first-ever Cargo Facts EMEA conference, held this year at the Westin Grand Frankfurt, Airborne Maintenance and Engineering Services subsidiary PEMCO Conversions announced a launch customer for its full-freighter 737-700 conversion program. PEMCO originally launched passenger-to-freighter and passenger-to-combi 737-700 programs at the 2017 Cargo Facts Asia event in Shanghai. At the […]

• Caryn Livingston
• February 6, 2019

Government shutdown holds up STCs, could ground aircraft

The shutdown of massive sections of the United States federal government and subsequent furlough of hundreds of thousands of federal employees – including 18,000 “non-essential” employees working in the Federal Aviation Administration – has already affected the aviation industry, and will only get worse for all facets of the air cargo equipment industry if it […]

• Charles Kauffman and Caryn Livingston
• January 11, 2019

Who’s who in freighter conversions part II: the major conversion houses

Today we conclude our two-part analysis of the passenger-to-freighter conversion market. In part I yesterday, we began with a look at that market’s move into conversions of Next Generation, or NG, aircraft, and some thoughts on how future widebody conversion programs are likely to play out. In part II today, we take a look at […]

• Caryn Livingston
• December 12, 2018

Who’s who in freighter conversions part I: the next generation and beyond

Last year, the conversion industry finally pushed forward the next generation of conversions with the redelivery of the first freighter-converted next-generation (NG) narrowbody aircraft – Alaska Airlines’ 737-700BDSF converted by Bedek Aviation Group. Boeing aircraft weren’t the only airframe types to find new life as freighters among the next generation, either, as a year ago […]

• Caryn Livingston
• December 11, 2018

Longhao Airlines is the newest 737-400F operator on the block

Guangzhou-based all-cargo carrier Longhao Airlines took redelivery today of its first 737-400F (27916, ex-Japan Transocean Airlines). The PEMCO-converted aircraft redelivery represents the third aircraft the fledgling carrier has imported since the beginning of this year and grows the carrier’s freighter fleet to six units – three of which, not including the 737-400F, are currently active. […]

• Charles Kauffman
• November 27, 2018