HIT by a perfect storm, freighter conversions have slowed from frantic activity to reducing conversion lines, reports London's Loadstar.
Narrowbody conversion specialist Aeronautical Engineers (AEI) has secured orders recently from two clients for four B737-800 reconfigurations, but overall, business has slowed significantly, reported Bob Convey, vice president of sales and marketing.
He reckons the company will complete 25 conversions this year - last year it finished 42 - and pointed to a combination of very expensive feedstock to non-existent feedstock on one side, and lack of demand on the other.
The days when airlines and leasing firms were rushing to turn their idle passenger planes into all-cargo configuration are a distant memory. Now there is a scramble for passenger aircraft, as recovering travel demand triggers massive schedule expansions.
Delta, for example, is increasing its transatlantic flying this summer by 30 per cent, to operate 77 routes to 32 destinations in Europe and beyond.
Airlines are placing large orders for new aircraft: last month, Turkish Airlines announced plans to buy 600, smashing the record set this year by Air India's order for 470. Observers have likened the rush for aircraft to an 'arms race' among carriers.
Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun said this month that efforts to fix supply chain problems had shown 'frustratingly slow' progress and he warned that aircraft production capacity would remain constrained for five years.
Aircraft leasing firms are enjoying strong demand for passenger planes. Quite a few leases have been extended - not just by six months but from three to five years.
As a result, feedstock for conversions has shrunk alarmingly leading to 'a dramatic lack of feedstock to be purchased at any price' said Mr Convey. 'There are very few passenger [B737-]800s on the market, and the ones that are listed for sale are either in poor condition or priced out of the range of most freighter dogs.'
Purchase prices of 737-800s have increased 20-30 per cent over the past six months, he added.
While feedstock is depleted, demand has also waned, and the integrators have slowed down their aircraft purchases. FedEx is shrinking its fleet in response to a marked shift in traffic to deferred delivery windows, Mr Convey noted. For aircraft conversion specialists, the gold rush days of the pandemic are over, for now.
'A year ago we were booked almost two years out, now we could drop in a minus 800 in July,' he said. 'It's getting back to what we were used to before the pandemic.'
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Narrowbody conversion specialist Aeronautical Engineers (AEI) has secured orders recently from two clients for four B737-800 reconfigurations, but overall, business has slowed significantly, reported Bob Convey, vice president of sales and marketing.
He reckons the company will complete 25 conversions this year - last year it finished 42 - and pointed to a combination of very expensive feedstock to non-existent feedstock on one side, and lack of demand on the other.
The days when airlines and leasing firms were rushing to turn their idle passenger planes into all-cargo configuration are a distant memory. Now there is a scramble for passenger aircraft, as recovering travel demand triggers massive schedule expansions.
Delta, for example, is increasing its transatlantic flying this summer by 30 per cent, to operate 77 routes to 32 destinations in Europe and beyond.
Airlines are placing large orders for new aircraft: last month, Turkish Airlines announced plans to buy 600, smashing the record set this year by Air India's order for 470. Observers have likened the rush for aircraft to an 'arms race' among carriers.
Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun said this month that efforts to fix supply chain problems had shown 'frustratingly slow' progress and he warned that aircraft production capacity would remain constrained for five years.
Aircraft leasing firms are enjoying strong demand for passenger planes. Quite a few leases have been extended - not just by six months but from three to five years.
As a result, feedstock for conversions has shrunk alarmingly leading to 'a dramatic lack of feedstock to be purchased at any price' said Mr Convey. 'There are very few passenger [B737-]800s on the market, and the ones that are listed for sale are either in poor condition or priced out of the range of most freighter dogs.'
Purchase prices of 737-800s have increased 20-30 per cent over the past six months, he added.
While feedstock is depleted, demand has also waned, and the integrators have slowed down their aircraft purchases. FedEx is shrinking its fleet in response to a marked shift in traffic to deferred delivery windows, Mr Convey noted. For aircraft conversion specialists, the gold rush days of the pandemic are over, for now.
'A year ago we were booked almost two years out, now we could drop in a minus 800 in July,' he said. 'It's getting back to what we were used to before the pandemic.'
SeaNews Turkey