New IAI system optimizes passenger-to-freighter aircraft conversions

Israel's Aerospace Industries launched its Global Control Center (GCC), which can manage and monitor significant projects. The system is now in operation.

IAI reveals new GCC system

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) launched its Global Control Center (GCC), which can significantly reduce conversion time from passenger aircraft to freight aircraft.

The GCC system, developed in-house, can manage and monitor significant projects, notably the international aircraft conversion programs that IAI conducts in Israel and worldwide. It will be managed by an advanced control and monitoring center at IAI’s facility.

These conversions have experienced a boom in recent years, with a significant increase in the demand for air freight. Data from 2023 shows a 15% increase in demand compared to 2022, according to IAI, and this is expected to continue in the future.

IAI CEO Boaz Levy says the company expects the system “will have a great impact on [its] activities, both internally and externally, first in the aviation sector and then in other IAI activities.”

The system is now in operation after being tested by all levels

The system is now in operation after being tested by all levels, from aeronautical division managers to project managers and general workers, and it not only reduces conversion time but also optimizes all the logistical processes and allows for a targeted and horizontal management of errors or challenges.

 Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) launched its Global Control Center (GCC) (credit: COURTESY IAI)
Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) launched its Global Control Center (GCC) (credit: COURTESY IAI)

According to IAI, the GCC system allows the company to present the conversion process in real-time to its customers, both new and existing, in a way that was not previously possible and with a degree of detail that was until recently considered impossible.

IAI has been converting aircraft for years, including the Boeing 737, the 767 series, the 777-300, and the Airbus A330 aircraft, the last two of which are in the final stages of acquiring a license.

VP and GM of IAI’s Aviation Group Shmuel Kuzi explained, “Now that it is in full operation, we expect to be able to reduce the working time on each aircraft, improve the response to our customers, and allow new customers to share in the success and enjoy IAI’s converted freighters.”