AviTrader_Monthly_MRO_e-Magazine_2017-01

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