Last October, GECAS and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) announced the launch of the Boeing 777-300ERSF, officially marking the establishment of a passenger to freighter conversion program for the large twin-engine widebody.

GECAS notes that the conversion of initial aircraft is expected to occur in Tel Aviv, with further conversion lines contemplated in other locations outside of Israel from 2023. Sam Chui notes that the first aircraft conversion has already begun, as a former Emirates 777 was delivered to IAI in June. //

“I’m keeping an eye on that and wondering if the whole freighter concept is now going full circle, where initially it started off as conversion of passenger aircraft and then it went into production freighters, and maybe are we getting back to a situation now where manufacturers are going to say the risk is too high,” -Richard Forson, CEO, Cargolux

“…what we’ve done as an airline is taken the necessary steps to ensure the longevity of our 747 fleet as long as possible…Besides the Antonov [An-124], which is a niche aircraft, there is not a comparable aircraft with the capabilities of the 747, especially in terms of the movement of outsize shipments.”