London, U.K., and Kelowna, B.C., aren’t often mentioned in the same breath, but KF Aerospace has changed that.
This week, Boeing announced plans to add three conversion lines for its 737-800BCF across North America and Europe. These are facilities that convert aircraft to freighters and two will be located at KF Aerospace in Canada, while one will be in London Gatwick.
The Kelowna sites are expected to open in 2023.
“Building a diverse and global network of conversion facilities is critical to supporting our customers’ growth and meeting regional demand,” Jens Steinhagen, director of Boeing Converted Freighters said in a press release.
“KF Aerospace and our Boeing teammates at London Gatwick have the infrastructure, capabilities and expertise required to deliver market-leading Boeing Converted Freighters to our customers.”
Gregg Evjen, chief operating officer of KF Aerospace, noted that the company has been working with the Boeing product line for more than 30 years.
“With our cargo conversion experience, our highly skilled workforce and all the technical requirements already in place, we’re ready to get to work and help serve Boeing’s customers,” Evjen said.
Evjen didn’t indicate whether the new contract would amount to any new jobs or if this contract was connected to the hiring plans announced in September.
The company said it is expanding two hangars at its Kelowna facility and will immediately add 50 new local positions, ranging from entry-level jobs to professional services.
“When COVID-19 grounded air travel, demand for regular maintenance on commercial aircraft softened,” Evjen said at the time.
“But travel has been steadily returning, our cargo conversion business is soaring, and we continue to welcome new customers. Our workforce is expanding. Now is the perfect time to jump on a long-term career opportunity in a very cool industry.”
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 per cent of that demand coming from European carriers, and 30 per cent coming from North America and Latin America.
The 737-800BCF is the standard body freighter market leader with 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.
Comments