Tag Archives: Boeing 737-800BCF

Boeing to open three new freighter conversion lines; takes order for 11 737-800BCF

Boeing has made this announcement from Dubai:

As global demand for freighters continues to soar, Boeing has announced plans to add three conversion lines for the market-leading 737-800BCF across North America and Europe. The company also signed a firm order with Icelease for eleven of the freighters as the launch customer for one of the new conversion lines.

In 2022, the company will open one conversion line at Boeing’s London Gatwick Maintenance, Repair & Overhaul (MRO) facility, its state-of-the-art hangar in the United Kingdom; and two conversion lines in 2023 at KF Aerospace MRO in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada.

For Icelease, which recently expanded its cooperation with Corrum Capital through a joint venture called Carolus Cargo Leasing, the order for eleven 737-800BCF will be their first converted freighter order with Boeing. The lessor will be the launch customer for conversions at Boeing’s London Gatwick MRO facility.

(Photo credit: Boeing)

Earlier this year, Boeing announced it would create additional 737-800BCF conversion capacity at several sites, including a third conversion line at Guangzhou Aircraft Maintenance Engineering Company Limited (GAMECO), and two conversion lines in 2022 with a new supplier, Cooperativa Autogestionaria de Servicios Aeroindustriales (COOPESA) in Costa Rica. Once the new lines become active, Boeing will have conversion sites in North America, Asia and Europe.

Boeing forecasts 1,720 freighter conversions will be needed over the next 20 years to meet demand. Of those, 1,200 will be standard-body conversions, with nearly 20% of that demand coming from European carriers, and 30% coming from North America and Latin America.

K-Mile Air to operate Boeing 737-800F freighters for DHL

DHL Express has made this announcement:

In anticipation of the upcoming e-commerce peak season where DHL Express expects orders and sales to rise significantly, the world’s leading international express service provider has expanded its airfreight capacity within Asia with a newly converted Boeing 737-800 freighter.

Operated by K-Mile Asia, a partner of DHL, the new aircraft offers a total gross payload of close to 140 tons weekly as it travels six times a week from Hanoi to Hong Kong and Bangkok before making its return to Hanoi. This is a 30 percent increase in capacity carried previously by the Boeing 737-400SF freighter, enabling better preparation and response to the anticipated growth in shipment volumes in the coming months.

The expanded capacity and increased flight frequency from five to six times per week will equally enable businesses and consumers from the three markets to capitalize on the growth in trade opportunities within Asia, as they benefit from quicker deliveries and shorter transit times.

The new Boeing 737-800 aircraft connecting Bangkok, Hong Kong and Hanoi joins three other aircraft in the fleet that concurrently and collectively serve Hong Kong, Phnom Penh, Singapore and Jakarta.

K-Mile Air, operating as K-Mile Asia, was established in 2004 as Thailand’s first express freight airline. Our initial operations began in 2006 with a Boeing 727 freighter between BKK and SIN. The fleet subsequently expanded to 3 such aircraft. These aircraft have since been retired in 2013.

In March 2014, Farnair Switzerland took a 45% stake in K-Mile Air. Since then ASL Aviation Holdings has taken over ownership of Farnair and has been a valuable partner with extensive domain expertise. ASL is a global aviation services provider with operations on 6 continents and a fleet of 140 aircraft in 6 airlines in Europe, South Africa and Asia.

Our Boeing 737-400SF operations were launched in July 2014 and continue to cater to the growing intra-Asia airfreight.

Our current scheduled routes include:

HAN-HKG-BKK-HAN / 5 rotations per week / since Nov 2014
PNH-BKK-SIN-BKK-PNH / 5 rotations per week / since Apr 2016
CGK-SIN-CGK (as an extension to the above route from SIN)/ 4 rotations per week / since Feb 2017

Our airline is managed and operated by a team of highly experienced aviation professionals, based at our offices at Suvarnabhumi Airport, Bangkok. K-Mile remains the only Thai freighter airline, with most of our business focused on air operations for express integrators and charter services across Southeast Asia.

Demand for connecting major cities within Southeast Asia is ever increasing, as is demand between Southeast Asian cities and major cities within China. K-Mile Air has a competitive advantage to best support this growth in trade and cross border e-commerce.

WestJet to operate Boeing 737-800BCF freighters

WestJet today announced that it is launching a new dedicated cargo service, using 737-800 Boeing Converted Freights (BCF), as dedicated aircraft, to fulfill the larger-scale needs of Canadian businesses, freight forwarders, shippers and individual customers. The first of these dedicated 737-800BCFs are expected to be in service by the second quarter of 2022.

(CNW Group/WESTJET, an Alberta Partnership)

Throughout 2022, WestJet Cargo will grow its fleet of 737-800BCFs, to work in tandem with the current offering of WestJet’s existing Cargo business. The 737-800 narrow body aircraft is quick to load and fly, enabling WestJet Cargo to offer greater fuel efficiency, flexibility and frequency for its customers. WestJet Cargo routes and scheduled services will accommodate the diverse needs of cargo customers using WestJet’s existing network and highly skilled 737 pilots.

WestJet Cargo’s ability to ship on dedicated freighters or in the cargo hold on commercial routes provides cargo customers with increased reliability, flexibility and capacity to transport their diverse shipments to their chosen destination.

BBAM places six firm orders and six options for Boeing 737-800BCF converted freighters

Boeing and BBAM Limited Partnership have announced the lessor is expanding its 737-800 Boeing Converted Freighter fleet with six firm orders and six options. The agreement brings BBAM’s 737-800BCF orders and commitments to 15 and highlights the continued strength of the e-commerce and express cargo market.

Based on the popular Next-Generation 737, the 737-800BCF is meeting customer demand for a newer-generation freighter that offers higher reliability and lower fuel consumption and operating costs per trip compared to other standard body freighters. Primarily used to carry express cargo on domestic or short-haul routes, the airplane is capable of carrying up to 23.9 tonnes (52,800 pounds) and flying up to 2,025 nautical miles (3,750 kilometers). Since entering service in 2018, the 737-800BCF has won more than 150 orders and commitments.

BBAM is the world’s largest dedicated manager of investments in leased commercial jet aircraft, providing over 200 airline customers in more than 50 countries with fleet and financing solutions over the last three decades. BBAM is the only manager in the aircraft leasing industry focused exclusively on generating investment returns for third-party investors. BBAM currently has more than $28 billion of assets under management and employs over 150 professionals at its headquarters in San Francisco and in additional offices in Tokyo, Singapore, Zurich, Dublin and Santiago.

SpiceXpress adds its first Boeing 737-800 Boeing Converted Freighter

Boeing has made this announcement:

SpiceXpress, SpiceJet’s cargo division, has taken delivery of its first Boeing 737-800 Boeing Converted Freighter (BCF) as the India-based carrier expands its air cargo operation to better serve one of the world’s most populated regions and offer new route options.

The standard-body freighter, which is the first 737-800BCF to be operated in South Asia, is on lease from NGF Alpha Limited, a division of Spectre Cargo Solutions.

The 737-800BCF entered service last year and its order book has grown quickly to 120 orders and commitments. The program has ramped up production – with output set to more than double to 17 units in 2019 – to meet the customer demand.

SpiceXpress, the dedicated air cargo arm of SpiceJet has nine scheduled departures six days a week to Hong Kong from Delhi, Kolkata and Guwahati and one domestic rotation connecting Hyderabad, Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Chennai. SpiceXpress has also operated numerous charter services to international destinations such as Sharjah, Ras Al Khaimah, Teheran, Sulaimaniyah (Iraq), Bosaso (Somalia) & Hargeisa (Somali Land) besides helping transport relief material to Bhubaneshwar during Cyclone Fani.

GECAS orders 10 737-800 Boeing Converted Freighters, adds 15 options

GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS) signed an agreement with Boeing at the Paris Air Show exercising 10 purchase rights to firm orders and adding 15 more purchase rights for the 737-800 Boeing Converted Freighter (BCF).

The 737-800BCF, which is making its air show debut at Le Bourget this week, is Boeing’s newest freighter product. The company converts Next-Generation 737 passenger airplanes into cargo jets that are capable of carrying more payload – up to 23.9 tonnes (52,800 lbs) – and flying farther – 2,000 nautical miles (3,750 km) – than previous standard-body freighters.

Today’s order is the third time that GECAS has purchased Boeing’s newest freighter since the program was announced in 2016. GECAS, the commercial aircraft leasing and financing arm of General Electric [NYSE: GE], now has 65 orders and options for the 737-800BCF.

Boeing delivered the first in-service 737-800BCF to GECAS leasing customer West Atlantic AB last year. Boeing has delivered 14 737-800BCFs to date.

Photo: GECAS.

Atran Airlines takes delivery of its first Boeing 737-800BCF

Atran Airlines, the Russian air express carrier within Volga-Dnepr Group, has enlarged its fleet with the delivery of its first Boeing 737-800BCF (VQ-BFS), increasing its total number of freighters to five.

Having successfully completed certification of the Boeing 737-800BCF in Russia, the airline will be the first to operate this type of freighter, enabling Atran’s customers to benefit from its enhanced operational capabilities and more solutions for cargo deliveries.

The additional airplane will boost the carrier’s capacity and guarantee a wider choice of logistics solutions for its customers linking routes between Russia, the CIS and Europe. The freighter has already operated its first flights from Moscow (Vnukovo) to Norilsk and Yakutsk carrying much-needed essential consumer goods for the population of the Siberian and Far Eastern parts of Russia, including perishables, general cargo and e-commerce shipments.

In addition to accommodating 11 standard aviation pallets (2235×3175 mm) and containers in the cargo compartment, the Boeing 737-800BCF incorporates a reconfigurable cargo handling system which can be easily adjusted for various types of ULDs. Its advanced technical characteristics, together with ICAO Stage 4 noise certification, make it an ideal aircraft for European short and medium-haul cargo operations, enabling easy and seamless deliveries of express and mail consignments.

The Boeing 737-800BCF is a newcomer to Volga-Dnepr Group and complements its existing fleet of An-124-100, Il-76TD-90VD, Boeing 747F and Boeing 737-400F, therefore expanding the Group’s airfreight solutions.

Photo: Atman Airlines.

Route Map: Currently, the Atran’s regular service route network includes such major hub airports as Cologne/Bonn, Liege, Stockholm (Arlanda) and Moscow (Vnukovo) providing daily scheduled flights five times a week, with the timeliness of more than 98%.

Photo of the Day: The first Boeing 737-800BCF for West Atlantic in FedEx Express livery

Boeing has released this photo:

Exciting to see the 737-800 Boeing Converted Freighter opening new doors for operators, particularly express cargo carriers. Operated by GECAS leasing customer West Atlantic, this 737-800 — the first BCF in FedEx Express livery — is preparing for its maiden revenue flight.