Boeing 737

Will exuberance for air cargo conversions create freighter glut?

A plane on struts in maintenance hanger.

A surge of passenger-to-freighter aircraft conversions in response to heightened shipping activity since the pandemic is raising questions about whether the boom cycle can be sustained or will lead to oversupply that lowers lease and freight rates.

The number of aircraft reconfigured for main-deck cargo storage is estimated to exceed 180 by 2025, a 150% increase compared to the average annual production of 70 units last decade, according to a recent analysis by AeroDynamic Advisory. Thirty years...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/will-exuberance-for-air-cargo-conversions-create-freighter-glut

A321 conversion expected to penetrate European market, compete with 757s and 737s

In April, the Federal Aviation Administration awarded a Supplemental Type Certificate for 321 Precision Conversions ⁠— a joint venture between Air Transport Services Group (ATSG) and Oregon-based, Precision Aircraft Solutions. 

Two of ATSG’s subsidiaries ⁠— Airborne Maintenance & Engineering Services and PEMCO Conversions — will provide manufacturing and conversion labor for the ATSG A321 conversions with the first slots available to their customers in Q4.

The urgency placed on this conversion is...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/a321-conversion-expected-to-penetrate-european-market-compete-with-757s-and-737s

Boeing, IAI expand production lines for 737, 777 freighter conversions

Inside the frame of a stripped down Boeing 737-800 being converted into a freighter.

Boeing (NYSE: BA) and Israel Aerospace Industries are adding production capacity to meet growing demand for conversions of narrow- and wide-body passenger aircraft into freighters.

The U.S. plane maker announced Wednesday that it is partnering with an airframe maintenance and repair specialist in Costa Rica so it can modify more 737-800 aircraft for full-time cargo work to meet the need of express delivery operators experiencing growing e-commerce volumes.

Cooperativa Autogestionaria de Servicios...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/boeing-iai-expand-production-lines-for-737-777-freighter-conversions

The flying flexible people freighter: Meet the FlexCombi

A white Boeing 737 with blue tail sitting on tarmac on bright sunny day with big cargo door open. Pemco is converting these planes into freighters.

The combi-aircraft is the centaur of aviation. Like the mythological figure it’s a rare find, but it still serves a purpose in certain parts of the world.

Now Pemco Conversions, a subsidiary of aircraft leasing and cargo transport provider Air Transport Services Group (NASDAQ: ATSG), is taking the half-passenger, half-cargo concept to the next level.

The dual-use plane is called a FlexCombi — the ultimate in flexibility. 

It’s a Boeing 737-700 passenger plane converted to a cargo configuration,...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/the-flying-flexible-people-freighter-meet-the-flexcombi

MetalCraft fireboat helped rescue Florida airplane passengers

MetalCraft Marine was at the center of emergency rescue efforts this summer when a Boeing 737 aircraft slid off the runway into the St. Johns River while landing in Jacksonville, Fla.

Late in the evening on May 3, a Miami Air charter with 143 people aboard was arriving from Guantanamo Bay at Naval Air Station Jacksonville. During the landing the plane skid off the runway into the St. Johns River. All 136 passengers and seven air crew survived the crash with minor injuries reported.

MetalCraft’s...

https://www.workboat.com/news/coastal-inland-waterways/metalcraft-boat-helped-rescue-of-boeing-737-passengers/