Boeing aircraft conversions

LATAM Cargo moves up expansion plan for Boeing 767 freighter fleet

A white LATAM Airlines with blue and red tail on the taxiway at airport.

LATAM Airlines, motivated by the exponential growth in e-commerce shipments and the availability of more resources resulting from restructuring, is accelerating plans to grow its cargo fleet up to 75% in three years with the conversion of up to eight Boeing 767 aircraft from its passenger fleet. 

The decision is the latest example of cargo airlines snapping up the prized medium-size aircraft as passenger airlines discard them in favor of smaller, modern aircraft that are profitable to operate in...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/latam-cargo-moves-up-expansion-plan-for-boeing-767-freighter-fleet

A321 converted freighter debuts with Australia Post

A white jet with red tail, Australia Post livery.

Qantas Freight on Tuesday began flying the world’s first Airbus A321 passenger-to-freighter conversion aircraft for Australia Post, which is expanding its fleet to meet demand for e-commerce shipments. 

Luxembourg-based Vallair leased the aircraft to Qantas Airways’ cargo division, which plans to add one or two more A321s to support Australia Post. Elbe Flugzeugwerke GmbH (EFW), a joint venture between Airbus and ST Engineering in Singapore, did the conversion work for Vallair and confirmed the...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/a321-converted-freighter-debuts-with-australia-post

Airbus A321 embarks on second act in e-commerce

A plane sitting outside a hangar with patches on fuselage where modified doors and other changes are being made.

Australia’s Qantas Airways is scheduled this month to receive the world’s first Airbus A321 converted from a passenger configuration into a freighter. Aviation engineering firms are gearing up to produce more A321 converted freighters, which experts say is ideal for domestic and regional express carriers that fly e-commerce shipments.

The arrival of the freighter — the first narrowbody aircraft with space for containers in the lower deck — comes at an opportune time. The coronavirus greatly...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/airbus-a321-embarks-on-second-act-in-e-commerce

Russian airlines expand 737 freighter services

ATRAN Airlines

Russia’s ATRAN Airlines has expanded its express cargo services to China with the addition of a weekly flight between Moscow and Shijiazhuang airports to handle e-commerce orders.

Shijiazhuang, the capital of Hebei province, is smaller than Beijing and Tianjin to the north but has benefited as e-commerce suppliers expand to second-tier cities. Online orders from Russia have significantly increased this year because people have few opportunities to shop in stores amid the coronavirus pandemic. 

ATR...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/russian-airlines-expand-737-freighter-services

DHL prepares three 767 passenger planes for freight operations

German express carrier DHL has contracted with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) to convert three Boeing 767-300 passenger planes to all-cargo configuration.

The contract, which IAI stated is valued in the “tens of millions of dollars,” also includes an option for DHL to have IAI convert a fourth 767-300 to freighter service.

IAI spun off its commercial aviation group in 2019, although the Tel Aviv-based company has been converting Boeing passenger planes to freighters for years.

“The constant...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/dhl-prepares-three-767-passenger-planes-for-freight-operations