Page 25 - AAA MARCH - MAY 2022 Online Magazine

CERTAIN EXTENT,” said Erik Goedhart,
SVP and Global Head of Aerospace at
Kuehne+Nagel.
Kuehne+Nagel is a leading aerospace logistics
provider as well as leading air cargo provider
and customer of cargo airlines. Besides the
‘preighters’, the conversion of passenger air-
craft to full cargo aircraft reached new heights
as well. The Airbus 321 P2F did take off in 2021
and Boeing reported more than 100 aircraft
P2F conversions for 2021. The capacity of
P2F conversion companies is booked for the
upcoming 3-5 years and regularly new conver-
sion lines are announced.
conversion lines with Cooperativa Autogestionaria de Servicios
Aeroindustriales (COOPESA) in Alajuela, Costa Rica. The first of “The key challenges in the P2F conversion itself
the new conversion lines is expected to open in mid 2022, with the are the supply chain (lots of specific “parts” like
second anticipated later this year. doors, beams etc) and the limited number of
conversion lines around the world. It requires
Boeing forecasts 1,500 freighter conversions will be needed over the most experiences technicians and skills.
the next 20 years to meet growing demand. Of those, 1,080 will be Anything which can be done to “keep downtime
standard-body conversions, with nearly 30 per cent of that demand down” is of essence to get the aircraft con-
coming from North America and Latin America. “COOPESA has verted into cargo. From a logistics point of view,
demonstrated the technical expertise and commitment to quality converting aircraft is a specific challenge. The
and execution necessary to help us meet the growing customer Kuehne+Nagel P2F logistics solution can con-
demand for the 737-800BCF, including in the Americas,” said Jens tribute to reduce downtime. It requires highly
Steinhagen, director of Boeing freighter conversions. Currently, skilled professionals to manage vendors and
Boeing converts 737-800 passenger airplanes to freighters at three prepare the “shipset’’ with one aim. Have the
locations: Boeing Shanghai Aviation Services (BSAS) in Shanghai, shipset for a specific aircraft in the hangar just
China; Guangzhou Aircraft Maintenance Engineering Company in time when the aircraft rolls in. Experiences
Limited (GAMECO) in Guangzhou, China; and Taikoo (Shandong) so far shows it will save a few hours up to half
Aircraft Engineering Co. Ltd. (STAECO) in Jinan, China. According a day per working week in lead time so more
to Boeing, to date, the 737-800BCF has won more than 180 orders conversions are available at the earliest to meet
and commitments from 15 customers on four continents. In March the increased cargo demand,” Goedhart said.
last year, Boeing re-delivered the 50th 737-800BCF since entering
into service in 2018. Estimates indicate that narrow-body conver-
sion costs range from US$2.85m for a Boeing
Are ‘Preighters’ Here to Stay? 737-300 through a range of US$4.3-6m for a
Initially airlines have been adjusting aircraft in order to use the 737-800, up to US$6.1m for an Airbus A321-
passenger decks for cargo. Main reason was the grounded wide 200. On the wide-body side, a Boeing 767 will
body aircraft and “belly’’ cargo capacity down by more than 60 per run something like US$13.4-US$15.8m, while
cent. However, passenger deck cargo is labor and time intensive an A330 will range between US$17.6m-18.4m
in loading and unloading and has limitations because of the floor and a 777-300ER conversion is estimated
structure and weight. This was another reason for the increased between US$34-37m. Airlines such as China
cargo cost. Several companies are now working on innovations for Airlines are now focussing on its cargo opera-
containerized passenger deck cargo. These solutions will allow tions, and closely monitoring developments in
more cargo while requiring less labour and time. the passenger market, and carefully reviewing
its passenger market strategy, as they move
“FROM AN AEROSPACE INDUSTRY PERSPECTIVE, towards maximising their operational profits. As
THE CONVERSION TREND IS SEEN AS Diamond of SASI opined: “Cargo will continue
SUSTAINABLE. THE INDUSTRY HAS FACED to represent a much larger share of airline reve-
nue for years to come. The more cargo revenue
CHALLENGES IN THE PAST AND THERE WILL BE that passenger airlines can generate, the more
OTHER CHALLENGES IN THE FUTURE. THEREFORE, they will be able to keep passenger fares at a
FROM AN AEROSPACE VIEWPOINT, THE reasonable level and attract back passenger
‘PREIGHTERS’ (PASSENGER AIRCRAFT USING ITS traffic.” So, expect a large growth in freighters
in the coming decade, through a mixture of new
PASSENGER DECK FOR CARGO) WILL STAY TO A OEM aircraft and P2F conversion.

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