Boeing 737-8 Photo:CFP

Boeing and Taikoo (Shandong) Aircraft Engineering Co (STAECO) on Tuesday announced plans to create additional capacity for the market-leading 737-800 Boeing Converted Freighter (BCF) to help meet continued market demand.

In 2022, Boeing will add two 737-800BCF conversion lines at STAECO’s facility in Jinan, China. The first new line will open in the first quarter of the year, with the second line expected to begin conversions by midyear. Once the two new lines are operational, STAECO will have seven conversion lines dedicated to the 737-800BCF, according to Boeing. 

Boeing forecasts 1,720 freighter conversions will be needed over the next 20 years. Of those, 1,200 will be standard body conversions, with Asia carriers accounting for 40 percent of that demand. 

This year, Boeing announced it would create additional 737-800BCF conversion capacity at several sites, including with existing supplier Guangzhou Aircraft Maintenance Engineering Company Limited (GAMECO), and with new suppliers Cooperativa Autogestionaria de Servicios Aeroindustriales (COOPESA) in Costa Rica, KF Aerospace in Canada, and Boeing’s London Gatwick MRO facility in the United Kingdom.

The 737-800BCF is the standard freighter market leader with more than 200 orders and commitments from 19 customers. 

China's civil aviation industry saw a month-on-month increase in the number of air trips and the volume of mail and cargo in October.

The volume of mail and cargo stood at about 604,000 tons in October, up 0.8 percent from September, while the total air transport turnover rose 6.4 percent month-on-month to 7.33 billion ton-km, according to the Civil Aviation Administration of China.