Boeing Plans To Add Three Freighter Conversion Lines For 737-800BCF; Icelease Orders 11 737-800BCF

(RTTNews) - Boeing (BA) announced that it has planned to add three new freighter conversion lines for 737-800BCF across North America and Europe. The company specified that the 737-800BCF now has more than 200 orders and commitments from 19 customers.

The 737-800BCF offers higher reliability, lower fuel consumption, lower operating costs per trip and world-class in-service technical support compared to other standard-body freighters, the company said.

The company stated that it will open one conversion line at Boeing's London Gatwick Maintenance, Repair & Overhaul (MRO) facility in the United Kingdom in 2022; and two conversion lines at KF Aerospace MRO in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada in 2023.

The company also signed order with Icelease for eleven 737-800BCF and the lessor will be the launch customer for new conversions line at Boeing's London Gatwick MRO facility.

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.