AviTrader MRO Magazine 2017-01
AviTrader MRO Magazine 2017-01
AviTrader MRO Magazine 2017-01
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Cover story: Freighter conversions<br />
12<br />
CRJ200 Special Freighter Aircraft.<br />
Photo: Bombardier<br />
see growing interest in these pre-owned aircraft from both traditional<br />
and emerging sectors of the industry.”<br />
“The CRJ-100 and 200 operator base has grown by about 120% over<br />
the past eight or nine years, a strong indication of the aircraft’s continuing<br />
strength, versatility and<br />
appeal,” adds Speirs.<br />
Some years back the concept<br />
of Low Cost Freighter<br />
(LCF) conversion was being<br />
developed. The potential<br />
advantage of the LCF approach<br />
over conventional<br />
P2F process was that it does<br />
not have a main-deck door, and the LCF avoids the need to make<br />
changes to the external structure of the aircraft.<br />
Refael Matalon, Senior Director and GM for Marketing and Business<br />
Development at the Bedek Group feels this kind of method [LCF] is not<br />
really efficient. “This is because in order to carry cargo on the main<br />
deck you should modify the existing floor beams, change ECS system<br />
and reroute new electrical bundles and on top of that you are limited<br />
with cargo size due to entrance door dimensions, hence in order to get<br />
the maximum payload and cargo size you need flexibility to modify the<br />
external of the aircraft and have a standard cargo door,” he explains.<br />
Mike Andrews, Director of Conversion Programmes at PEMCO World<br />
Air Services in not convinced with the practicality of the LCF either and<br />
believes this approach is simply a concept. “I only see a small market<br />
for this. Small volume, small profits,” he suggests.<br />
There is no such thing as affordable air freight; however, McCarthy<br />
from Precision believes the LCF concept could be utilised by the right<br />
operator. “The absence of a large main-deck door means unique upload<br />
and offload techniques and restricted cargo size.”<br />
McCarthy explains that whether the cargo is loaded via specialised hampers<br />
or conveyor belts, the process could take longer than traditional<br />
containerised/palletised positions on a traditional P2F. He says the upfront<br />
cost of a traditional P2F conversion utilising a main-deck door on a<br />
narrow bodied aircraft could range between U$3 to 5 million.<br />
“If the LCF requires more down-time and man-power for upload and<br />
offload throughout its useful<br />
life of say, 10-15 years,<br />
this cost would need to be<br />
calculated and ran against<br />
the cost of a traditional conversion<br />
to see if it makes<br />
sense,” McCarthy continues.<br />
In summary, he says the<br />
type of cargo carried and<br />
the operational needs of the<br />
carrier would need to be considered to determine if the LCF is a better<br />
choice. “It will take a deep study of the operating costs of say, a<br />
light weight 777 and the<br />
value, density and volume<br />
of the cargo being considered<br />
because the LCF loses<br />
a certain amount of main<br />
deck volume because of<br />
the limited pallet position<br />
height which is limited by<br />
the size of the lower hold<br />
door dimensions.”<br />
“However, with fuel prices low and stable (for now), it<br />
is hard for operators to justify spending many millions<br />
more to move into a next-generation freighter.”<br />
Brian McCarthy, VP Marketing and Sales at Precision Aircraft Solutions<br />
Some industry insiders<br />
have stated that the ‘classic’<br />
freighter feedstock is<br />
becoming increasingly<br />
scarce and expensive to<br />
operate and there is a<br />
push to purchase in-fleet<br />
next generation aircraft for<br />
conversion as they have<br />
more attractive economics.<br />
Mike Andrews, Director of Conversion Programmes,<br />
PEMCO<br />
<strong>AviTrader</strong> <strong>MRO</strong> - January <strong>2<strong>01</strong>7</strong>