Vx converts first 737NG Vx Capital will soon begin converting its first 737-800 (28535, ex-Corendon Airlines) to freighter configuration with Aeronautical Engineers Inc. (AEI).
The airframe departed storage in Antalya (AYT) and arrived in Kelowna (YLW) on Jan. 23, where touch labor will be performed at the KF Aerospace MRO facility, Vx confirmed to Cargo Facts [FAT 005911].
KF told Cargo Facts it has scheduled the conversion for 120 days.
Vx manages the largest portfolio of 737 Classic freighters but had yet to foray into NG conversions, although it had indicated it was closely watching the NG space. An operator for the 737-800SF has not yet been identified, and the freighter is listed as available on various aircraft marketing channels.
As of today, the U.S.-based commercial aircraft leasing company has not identified additional 737-800s it plans to convert.
Meanwhile, Vx has continued to convert 737 Classics. Its most recent batch of 737-400 conversions consisted of three ex-LOT frames (27914, 28753 and 28752), announced in January 2020. All three are also at YLW, with units 27914 and 28753 already completed. Following redelivery of 28752, Vx will have converted a total of twenty-eight 737 Classics — including twenty-six with AEI — and its overall leasing portfolio will grow to forty-three 737-400Fs.
While Vx could not be reached for comment on plans to grow its freighter portfolio, a trio of executives from the company is working with investment manager Ares Management to launch a new company called Vmo Aircraft Leasing. Ares will contribute $500 million from its private equity group to grow the venture’s portfolio, Vx and Ares announced this month in a joint release. The portfolio will “target a global and diversified portfolio of modern, next-generation and efficient commercial aircraft,” according to the release.
Ares made no mention of freighters and did not identify models that will be added the portfolio. The fund’s founding capital is significantly larger than Vx’s initial investment funds. Vx Capital’s 2016 Freighter Investment Fund raised $107 million in private capital. In 2019, the lessor closed a $189 million asset-backed deal secured by thirty-five of its freighters.
Elsewhere, other 737 Classics also continue to be converted, with KF working on its own 737-400s at both YLW and Hamilton (YHM). Nauru Airlines recently sent what will be its third 737-300 freighter (25607) for conversion with AEI, while PEMCO converted two ex-Flair Airlines 737-400s (28888 and 28889) recently seen in the colors of Italy-based Poste Air Cargo.
AELF acquires Maleth on path to possible widebody conversions AELF FlightService, its parent Aircraft Engine Lease Finance (AELF), and other undisclosed partner companies have acquired a controlling interest in Maleth-Aero, the Malta-based operator with a varied fleet that currently includes a 737-300F (23708, ex-Swiftair) and a 737-300QC (24255, ex-Mistral Air) in cargo configuration.
AELF, which does not have its own air operator’s certificate (AOC), and Maleth began working together in November 2020, when Maleth started flying a reconfigured A330-200 (700, ex-AtlasGlobal) owned by AELF on an ACMI basis for Ukraine-based Windrose Airlines and Ukraine’s national postal service.
AELF, which owns three other reconfigured A330-200s (466, 472 and 871) with seats removed and two 767-300ERs (26260 and 26389, both ex-Blue Panorama), had previously told Cargo Facts that it was evaluating freighter conversion for aircraft types. The company said it has not yet made any concrete decisions on that front, but does intend to add more A330s — preferably -300s — to Maleth’s AOC, and hopes to continue growing its wet, damp and dry leasing businesses.
In the meantime, AELF confirmed that unit 466 (ex-TAM) has now received its certificate of release to service (CRS) and will soon enter service after being painted at the Mexicana MRO Services facility in Mexico City (MEX). Unit 472 (ex-I-Fly) is in Malta and will soon be on Maleth’s certificate. Unit 871, previously an Airbus demonstrator aircraft, has also received its CRS after maintenance by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) in Tel Aviv (TLV) and had been due to be positioned to Malta. However, this was delayed by the closure of TLV from Jan. 26 to 31, in an effort to curb COVID-19 in Israel.
Maleth-Aero is currently also flying three reconfigured ex-Virgin Atlantic A340-600s (622, 736 and 787) with seats removed for cargo. The carrier said it is keen to add more freighters to its certificate.
Sichuan is also readying to expand its freighter fleet beyond medium-widebody freighters and is looking to add five freighter-converted A321-200Fs.
Airframes have not been identified, the carrier told Cargo Facts. Unlike in 2019 when Sichuan Airlines received its first three A330-200Fs, there is no surplus of idled factory-built A330-200Fs, or nearly any other freighter, available this year. Two years ago, Qatar Airways chose not to renew the leases on the trio of airframes in its eight-unit A330-200F. Unlike the other five airframes, which Qatar Airways owned, the other three had been on lease from BOC Aviation. Qatar Airways has since sold one of the five to the Hungarian government, but continues to operate the remaining four production freighters alongside twenty-four 777Fs and two 747-8Fs.
As for the A321-200s, although Sichuan Airlines operated a fleet of more than sixty of the type in passenger configuration, the airline will likely look to airframes outside its own fleet. Most of the airframes are very young, with only two more than twelve years old. As of Dec. 31, Sichuan Airlines operated forty-three A321-200ceos and eighteen A321-200neos, according to Airbus’ Order & Delivery log.
The Chengdu-headquartered airline’s cargo operation will soon have room to expand now that Chengdu Tianfu airport (TFU) is nearing completion. Last week, operators tested TFU runways ahead of the airport’s official opening, expected in June 2021. An Air China 747-8I and a China Southern A380 were among the aircraft to make an appearance at the airport. Once operational, Sichuan Airlines plans to relocate freighter operations to the new hub. Both TFU and Sichuan Airlines’ current hub at Chengdu Shuangliu (CTU) will continue to handle cargo moving in the bellyholds of passenger aircraft.
Airbus completes first UPS A300F upgrade UPS’ first A300-600F to undergo a major avionics upgrade by Airbus has made its way back to the U.S. after almost two years in France.
The aircraft (868) had been used by the manufacturer as the prototype for the upgrade, which brings the cockpit more in line with current-generation aircraft, and is designed to extend the service life of UPS’ fifty-two A300-600Fs for another twenty years.
Unit 868, which arrived in Mobile, Ala. (BFM) from Toulouse (TLS) on Jan. 21, had been ferried from Louisville (SDF) to TLS for the installation and testing of the modifications in February 2019. The aircraft, originally delivered to UPS in 2006, will receive a C-check and evaluation before returning to service, according to Airbus.
In an article in Airbus’ FAST magazine, UPS said the predominant reason for approaching Airbus in 2015 about the project was the need for a more modern Flight Management System (FMS) capable of handling the growth in navigation data since the entry into service of the first A300-600 in the 1980s.
The new FMS — responsible for flight plans, navigation and other tasks — contains a large database of global data that can be uploaded to the aircraft in about ten minutes. By contrast, the current older FMS forces UPS to split its databases into smaller regional packages that take almost an hour each to switch out. Updates will only have to be uploaded monthly on each aircraft instead of once per day.
Apart from the FMS, unit 868 now features larger LCD screens, a GPS-based instrument approach system for airports without an Instrument Landing System (ILS), a new Honeywell Aerospace weather radar, and other improvements that will lead to lower maintenance costs and better reliability.
With the first aircraft now complete, the remaining fifty-one will be modified at MRO facility appointed by UPS. The integrator, which had previously expected the redelivery of unit 868 in the second half of 2020, and the whole project to last through 2022, declined to provide specifics at this stage.
UPS’ A300-600F fleet has an average age of sixteen years; the first aircraft was delivered in 2000.
Meanwhile, UPS has also been upgrading the cockpits of all its 757Fs and 767Fs with larger and more modern Collins Aerospace displays. That project is much less complex than the Airbus upgrade and is expected to be completed well before the A300s.
A330 conversions gain traction with Turkmenistan duo
While the induction dates are not yet known at this point, the redeliveries are scheduled for 2022, according to Airbus. Specific aircraft have not yet been identified, although hundreds of A330-200s are currently parked around the world.
The deal is the first for any Airbus aircraft in the country, and was sealed in a virtual signing ceremony Jan. 18 between Airbus and the airline’s chairman, according to Turkmenistan’s civil aviation agency.
Since the A330P2F program was launched in 2012, EFW has completed and redelivered nine A330 conversions, the majority of them -300P2Fs to launch customer DHL Express. The only operator for the -200P2F so far is EgyptAir, which converted three of its own passenger frames and may be looking at more.
To date, Turkmenistan Airlines’ cargo operation has prioritized the use of capacity available in the bellyhold of its Boeing passenger fleet of 777-200LR, 757-200 and 737NG aircraft. Turkmenistan’s fleet also includes a trio of Il-76TD Soviet-era freighters, two of which have flown within the past month, and a third that last flew in September of 2020, according to flight data from AirNav.
Ahead of the freighter introduction, Turkmenistan Airlines has also invested in modernizing the cargo facilities at its Ashgabat (ASB) hub with electric pallet jacks to facilitate loading and unloading. The 17,100-square-meter facility is the largest air cargo warehouse in Turkmenistan, and one of the largest in the region, according to the airline’s website.
In June 2020, the Turkmen government had looked at acquiring a 777F, as part of a plan to develop the country’s cargo transportation sector. Cargo Facts is not currently aware of any firm commitments to lease or purchase a 777F, and the airline could not be reached for comment on whether the A330-200P2Fs represent a change of plans, or a complement to an eventual 777F acquisition.
EFW had told Cargo Facts toward the end of 2020 that it was seeing “very reasonable” prices for A330 feedstock and a rise in interest in the -200P2F, possibly because of attractive feedstock and the longer range of the -200. The level of interest is now more or less equal between the -200P2F and the -300P2F, according to EFW.
The A330P2F program has now gained three new customers within the past twelve months: Stratos, CDB Aviation and Turkmenistan Airlines.
Other carriers known to be considering A330 conversions include Turkey’s MNG Airlines and ULS Airlines Cargo.
Uzbekistan Airways, Turkmenistan Airlines’ Central Asian neighbor, has two 767-300BCFs.
Cargo Facts Asia 2021 returns as a virtual experience Cargo Facts is pleased to announce the return of Cargo Facts Asia 2021 as a virtual experience with live sessions and networking opportunities set for April 20-21. The full agenda and registration information are available at www.cargofactsasia.com.
Now in its tenth year, the region’s premier freighter-focused event will once again include voices from distinguished thought leaders in the air cargo supply from across the Asia Pacific.
This past year has been very active for air cargo, and Asia is no exception. Not only have carriers responded to the pandemic-induced capacity crunch with temporary measures to boost capacity, but they have also ordered new production freighters and conversions that will fortify fleets in the years to come. Conversion houses and OEMs alike have met demand with new conversion lines in China and Singapore, from which they will redeliver passenger-to-freighter conversions to customers in Asia, and globally.
Sessions at this year’s conference will explore the main drivers of air cargo demand in the medium and long term — notably express and e-commerce industry dynamics — and the trajectory of global trade.
Key topics to be explored and conference elements include:
Where does the next generation of freighter conversions fit into the fleet?
Defining the post-pandemic normal for e-commerce and what’s in store for Asian airfreight in 2021 and beyond.
How investments and innovations to combat COVID-19 will immunize the pharma cool chain for years to come.
Redefining suitable conversion feedstock.
Cargo Facts Consulting will release its updated 20-Year Freighter forecast with a focus on demand emanating from the region.
Recent freighter aircraft transactions Aeronaves TSM took redelivery of an MD-83SF (49945, ex-Ameristar), after conversion to freighter configuration by Aeronautical Engineers Inc. (AEI) in Dothan (DHN) [FAT 005910].
ASL Airlines inducted for conversion a 737-800 (33604, ex-Ryanair). The aircraft was ferried to Jinan (TNA), where it will be converted to freighter configuration by Boeing [FAT 005903].
Nauru Airlines inducted for conversion another of its own 737-300s (25607). The aircraft was ferried to Miami (MIA), where it will be converted by AEI [FAT 005898].
FedEx Express retired an MD-10-10F (46970) and ferried it to Victorville (VCV) [FAT 005909].
