The price of shipping goods by air rose to a record just before Christmas 2021, driven by strong demand for e-commerce, port congestion and a choke on capacity from airlines’ limited pandemic schedules.
Those trends also fueled a boom in a small but lucrative corner of the aerospace industry: converting passenger jets into cargo-carrying aircraft. According to aviation data company Cirium, a record 164 aircraft were converted to freighters last year.
Air freight rates have since fallen, partly due to a surge of new capacity in the market from the resurgence of air traffic. Air freight flies in the belly of passenger jets and special cargo planes, most of which are converted aircraft. The Baltic Air Freight Index fell by more than 48% compared to last year.
A Boeing 777 being converted to a cargo plane in Fort Worth, Texas, March 7, 2023.
Leslie Josephs | CNBC
An old first-class suite on a former Nordwind Boeing 777 that will be converted to a freighter on March 7, 2023.
Leslie Josephs/CNBC
Around the world, in facilities from Texas to Singapore, technicians are tearing out old seats, kitchens, toilets and other parts of the plane, leaving behind crumbs, children’s toys and other signs of past lives from planes carrying passengers.
A technician removes seats from a Boeing 777 in Fort Worth, Texas, March 7, 2023.
Leslie Josephs/CNBC
Technicians then reinforce the floor to carry heavy loads, and a special doorway is created and a door installed so that goods can be loaded onto the aircraft.
Aircraft engineers work on a Boeing 777 being converted to a cargo plane in Fort Worth, Texas, March 7, 2023.
Leslie Josephs | CNBC
The process can take months and cost millions of dollars, in some cases more than $30 million per aircraft, including maintenance. Companies that specialize in this say they are still winning orders to turn airplanes into freighters despite lower shipping costs.
An aircraft technician works on a Boeing 777 being converted to a cargo plane in Fort Worth, Texas, March 7, 2023.
Leslie Josephs | CNBC
CNBC visited Aspire MRO and Mammoth Freighters in Fort Worth, Texas – where the companies convert Boeing 777 wide-body jets into giant cargo carriers – to see how the process works.
Watch the video for more information.
A former Delta Air Lines Boeing 777 is converted into a passenger freighter in Fort Worth, Texas, March 7, 2023.
Leslie Josephs | CNBC