KF Aerospace Acquires New Contract with Boeing to Convert Airplanes into Freighters | The Canadian News

London, UK and Kelowna, BC are often not mentioned at the same time, but KF Aerospace has changed that.

This week, Boeing announced plans to add three conversion lines for its 737-800BCF in North America and Europe. These are facilities that convert airplanes into 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,” said Jens Steinhagen, director of Boeing Converted Freighters in a press release.

“KF Aerospace and our Boeing teammates in London Gatwick have the infrastructure, capabilities and experience to provide our customers with the market leading Boeing converted freighters.”

Gregg Evjen, chief operating officer for KF Aerospace, noted that the company has been working with the Boeing product line for more than 30 years.

“With our experience in cargo conversion, our highly skilled workforce and all the technical requirements already in place, we are ready to go to work and help serve Boeing customers,” Evjen said.

Evjen did not indicate if the new contract would mean new jobs or if this contract was related 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 suspended air travel, the demand for regular maintenance on commercial aircraft eased,” Evjen said at the time.

“But travel has consistently returned, our freight converting business is exploding, and we continue to welcome new customers. Our workforce is expanding. Now is the perfect time to take advantage of a long-term career opportunity in a very exciting industry. “

Earlier this year, Boeing announced that it would create additional 737-800BCF conversion capacity at various 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 Self-management of Services. Aeroindustriales (COOPESA) in Costa Rica. Once the new lines go live, Boeing will have conversion sites in North America, Asia and Europe.

Boeing anticipates that 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 percent of that demand coming from European carriers and 30 percent from North and Latin America.

The 737-800BCF is the market leader for standard body freighters 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.