Israel Airforce Industry has signed an agreement with Ethiopian Airlines to open a new center in Addis Ababa that will convert Boeing 767-300 airplanes into cargo planes.
The IAI is experiencing a growth in demand for conversions of the Boeing 767-300 model of airplane, and the new Ethiopian center will join the company's two existing conversion centers at the Ben-Gurion Airport Campus and in Mexico.
The conversions are to take place in Ethiopian Airlines' central maintenance center in Addis Ababa, Africa's largest and most advanced of its kind. The maintenance center will conduct the actual conversion of the airplanes from passenger to cargo, and will also provide ongoing maintenance and renovation services.
Along with ownership of the advanced maintenance center, the IAI chose Ethiopian Airlines because they are an experienced, leading airline company.
"The Aviation Division [of the IAI] is required to supply over 100 converted planes to the Israeli cargo-plane market in the coming years," said IAI VP and Aviation Division head Yossi Melamed. "In order to meet the challenging demands, we decided to develop additional airplane-conversion centers around the world," he said.
Melamed also praised the CEO of Ethiopian Airlines, Tewolde Gebremariam, for signing the deal, and expressed his hope that it would lead to further collaborations in the future.
"We are partnering with the IAI, one of the world's leading defense and aerospace companies, in converting planes in our maintenance center in Addis Ababa," Gebremariam said. "The conversion line will begin by converting three B767-300s owned by Ethiopian Airlines, and then will convert airplanes [of this model] belonging to other airlines in the region," he said.
"The collaboration is an upgrade in our maintenance and conversion capabilities, and makes us the best in the region."
According to aviation news outlet FlightGlobal, "From the carnage of Covid-19, passenger-to-freighter (P2F) conversions are emerging as a rare growth sector thanks to a combination of factors. A shortage of passenger-jet belly capacity and thriving e-commerce – aided by the impact of lockdowns on bricks and mortar retail – has boosted the freighter market generally. At the same time, a stream of younger, more fuel-efficient aircraft – retired early or returned to lessors from failed airlines – are increasing the lure of the P2F."