FRANKFURT, GERMANY – February 6, 2019 –PEMCO Conversions, a wholly owned subsidiary of Airborne Maintenance and Engineering Services, has announced a Boeing 737-700 Next Generation aircraft Passenger-to-Full Freighter conversion program. Chisholm Enterprises will be the launch customer.
“We’re excited to work with Chisholm Enterprises to develop the Full Freighter conversion,” said Mike Andrews, Director, Conversion Programs for PEMCO Conversions. “As we developed the B737-700 FlexCombi conversion, our understanding of their requirements grew, allowing us to implement comprehensive solutions that enhanced our vision of the B737-700 Full Freighter, making Chisholm the ideal launch customer for this conversion.”
Chisholm Enterprises is an internationally recognized provider of tailored aviation and business solutions in the Middle East. Its subsidiary, Texel Air, a non-scheduled cargo airline and maintenance repair organization, intends to operate the B737-700F from Bahrain International Airport.
“Over the past 10 years, we have partnered with PEMCO to successfully deliver numerous aircraft designed specifically to meet our unique business requirements, the FlexCombi being one such example. With their proven expertise and insight into our business, they were our natural first choice service provider for the addition of a Next Generation (NG) Full Freighter to our fleet,” shared Chisholm Enterprises CEO George Chisholm. “We are excited to work with PEMCO again and to see our NG fleet grow to support Texel Air’s expanding operations in Bahrain.”
PEMCO Conversions will induct a B737-700 for Full Freighter modification at its headquarters in Tampa, Florida during the second quarter of 2019. The company will amend its pending application with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration for the B737-700FC supplemental type certification (STC) to accommodate the full freighter conversion, streamlining the approval process. After initial FAA approval, PEMCO Conversions plans to certify both B737-700 conversion programs with the European Aviation Safety Agency and the Civil Aviation Administration of China.
The Full Freighter will be the second Next Generation conversion for the PEMCO Conversions team. The first was the B737-700 FlexCombiä in 2018 (STC pending), which offers three flexible configurations. The Full Freighter maximizes freight capacity with a main deck designed for 45,000 pounds of payload and 3,844 cubic feet of total volume, and offering nine (9) pallet positions accommodating 88” x 125” or 88” x 108” pallets.
Brady Templeton, President, Airborne Maintenance and Engineering Services said: “Building relationships with our customers and understanding their needs is the driving force behind our innovation and STC development. In this case, we are designing a great product, at a sensible price, based on knowledge developed as the market leader in the B737 passenger to freighter conversion market. The response and interest in our FlexCombi positioned us to deliver an additional model to satisfy demand in the narrowbody conversion market.”