Boeing to add two 737-800BCF conversion lines at STAECO's facility in China
Romain Guillot
 le 08/12/2021 , Maintenance aéronautique
Conversion capacities for the Boeing 737-800BCF are further increasing. Boeing announces that it has joined forces with its Chinese partner Taikoo (Shandong) Aircraft Engineering Co. Ltd. (STAECO) to position two new dedicated conversion lines in Jinan next year.
The first should be operational from the first quarter of 2022, the second should follow in the middle of the year. In total, the STAECO facilities will thus accommodate seven lines of modification of 737-800 full-freighter aircraft.
This new announcement comes only less than a month after the creation of three new 737-800BCF conversion lines in Europe and North America: one line at Boeing's facilities at London Gatwick from 2022 and two lines at KF Aerospace in Kelowna, in Canada, from 2023. The American aircraft manufacturer had also announced the creation of an additional conversion line for its 737-800 at GAMECO in Guangzhou (China) and two others in San José (Costa Rica) at Cooperativa Autogestionaria de Servicios Aeroindustriales (COOPESA).
Mainly used for express freight and on short routes, the 737-800BCF can carry 23.9 tonnes of cargo and has a maximum range of 3,750 kilometers.
For the moment, Boeing has only announced 200 orders and commitments from 19 customers for its 737-800BCF, but the increase in capacity to come over the next two years logically suggests new contracts.
Boeing forecasts 1,720 freighter conversions will be needed over the next 20 years. Of those, 1,200 will be standard body conversions with Asia carriers accounting for 40 percent of that demand.
|
