Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has opened Eastern Europe’s first wide-body conversion site at Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport. IAI is the world’s leader in passenger to cargo conversions of the Boeing 767, 737 and 747 aircraft, with lines in Israel and Mexico, while its Abu Dhabi site is expected to open in partnership with Etihad Engineering. The state-owned Israeli company is preparing to begin work on Boeing 777 conversions, for which it has partnered with AerCap, the world’s largest owner of commercial aircraft, requiring it to increase overall global capacity, resulting in the opening of its Belgrade facility. IAI has also obtained certification for Airbus A330-300 conversion programs.
IAI is said to have already begun work in Belgrade and is preparing to roll out its first passenger to cargo converted aircraft with a Boeing 767-300ER having arrived in the Serbian capital in mid-September, with work on its conversion set to begin soon. The B767-300BDSF (BEDEK Special Freighter) is the advanced converted freighter type of the B767 family, offered by IAI as a follow-up to the successful B767-200BDSF. The company has delivered more than 100 converted B767-300 aircraft. Israel Aerospace Industries says that it transforms about 25 planes a year, up from eighteen annually before the Covid-19 pandemic. The process takes about three months.
The cost of the per plane conversion amounts to approximately 35 million US dollars, which is much cheaper than the price of a new cargo plane. Global giants such as Amazon and DHL have jumped onboard in the competitive shipping market, with IAI officials saying that orders are booked for the next four years. Air Serbia has recently said it is exploring the possibility of converting three of its ATR72-200 aircraft into cargo planes. Cargo aircraft are being rushed into service amid a worldwide shortage in shipping capacity and the segment has proved to be extremely lucrative for airlines amid the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. Air Serbia said the airline is generally interested in further expanding into the freighter market but a lack of dedicated cargo aircraft, as well as conversion slots, are an issue.
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This is fantastic news. Great to hear
ReplyDeleteInteresting, makes you wonder how much more room there is. It's not like their facilities are huge. Maybe they could build a new facility somewhere else, in a new area so that the zone where they are today can be used for ramp space.
ReplyDeleteWas wondering what that Rouge plane was doing when I saw it parked in BEG.
ReplyDeleteVery nice! Goodc luck
ReplyDeleteNow in Belgrade there are technical service companies Jat Technika, Air Pink, Prince Aviation, IAI.
ReplyDeleteAre there any more?
MTU is opening huge plant for engine repairs next week.
DeleteWhere exactly is it located? Can you give a google maps location?
Deletehttps://www.exyuaviation.com/2021/07/mtu-begins-serbia-plant-construction.html
DeleteThank you 😉😉😉
DeleteAir Serbia Maintenance
DeleteThere is also Switzerland's SR Technics which relocated to Belgrade several years ago.
DeleteAvia Technics line maintenance
DeleteWow very interesting ! Bravo Belgrade!
ReplyDeleteAnd they did it all without a big fuss and pomp. Unexpected for our region :D
ReplyDeleteHighly unusual in the Balkans :D
DeleteNow is the time for someone to start a Serbian cargo airline!
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteWe had some in the past but they all went out of business for various reasons.
DeleteI think now would be a very good time for another one to start. Russian and Belorussian cargo airlines can't operate.
Which ones were they? I remember Air Tomisko and United International Airlines
DeleteAir Bridge cargo
DeleteAir Bridge is Russian airline or Serbian?
DeleteKosmas Air also with Il-76
DeleteIt's great to see the aviation sector expanding and diversifying more and more in Serbia.
ReplyDeleteYes. It's a good thing the University of Belgrade opened the Aviation Academy last year, which works with Air Serbia, Avia Prime (Jat Tehnika), MTU etc to train and educate young people to work in the aviation sector in the country.
DeleteIAI is a big and respected company. This is a good catch.
ReplyDeleteExciting development
ReplyDeleteDefinitivno IAI kompanija je u Srbiji. To je vise nego dobro.
ReplyDeleteSrbiji je potrebno dovodjenje velikog kargo operatera.
Zbog razvijanja kargo saobracaja Srbije i dobijanja kargo trzista. To bi bilo realno za tri do pet godina.
Beogradski aerodrom je spreman. Dok Kraljevacka Morava da napravi novu pistu i Kargo Centar. Da bi bila samoodrziva i opstala u sistemu civilnih aerodroma Srbije.
Verovati je da ljudi koji vode Srbiju to znaju i da ce poceti projekat zavrsiti.
Rodney Marinkovic and Aviation Enthusiast Associate Group. 😀✈🌐🛫🇷🇸✈
Where else in the world are there these jet conversion sites?
ReplyDeleteThere are quite a few around the world. Last year 12 new sites opened.
DeleteUnimaginable that Vucic was not there to cut the red ribbon……
ReplyDeleteI'm sure he eventually will
DeleteNo intention to defend him, but those comments are not correct. He is opening only the investments that got big subsidies from the state and this one didn't. No matter what I think about him, I don't see anything bad if he opened what state heavily subsidised.
DeleteAnd here is the plane in question landing at BEG
ReplyDeletehttps://www.jetphotos.com/photo/10714436
The bird is 27 years old. How much life does it have left in it when it is converted to a cargo plane?
Delete@anon 10:45
DeleteAbout 15-20 years.
Depending on previous maintenance history, it's due for age extension maintenance check during conversion if it wasn't done already. Many of AC Rogue B767's already went through age extension drugi regular maintenance in Lufthansa Technik Shannon facility in the years before covid. I don't think I saw any under 60 day check.
Interesting, thanks Mehaničar
DeleteNice! It would be nice to see the B777 converted in BEG too :)
ReplyDeleteThe B777 conversion site will be in Abu Dhabi, which makes sense considering Etihad will likely covert some of its B777s into cargo planes. But who knows, maybe B747s are coverted in BEG too, especially since Israel will take off and landing B747s.
DeleteThanks for the info!
DeleteCongratulations to Serbia from Nigeria
ReplyDeleteWe need cargo flights between Serbia and Nigeria.
DeleteGood arrangement for Jat Tehnika.
ReplyDeleteWho will be the customer of that ex-Rouge plane once it it's converted?
ReplyDelete@Anon13:42
DeletePrime Air, DHL and FedEx are taking almost all fresh converted B767's so I presume one of them. Other than them maybe Maersk Cargo.
When will we see Air Serbia Cargo with dedicated planes?
ReplyDeleteBravo Serbia
ReplyDeleteBelgrade airport plans 7-8 years ago called for large cargo facilities expansion and dedicated apron for cargo planes. Concession excluded those areas. What is the future of cargo in Belgrade beyond maintenance and conversion?
ReplyDeleteThere is a part in this article about cargo
Deletehttps://www.exyuaviation.com/2020/08/inside-belgrade-airports-multi-million.html
Thank you. As per article no dedicated cargo platform. Cargo planes are already using platforms B and E. Even though existing cargo building is not in a great shape, no plans for new cargo building until the end of concession in 2043 unless something changes. Very indifferent approach to cargo potential.
DeleteCan someone explain or suggest a link as to how cargo traffic operates? Is it a hub and spoke system similar to commercial traffic? Or are they mostly direct lines?
ReplyDeleteThanks.
Mostly the larger players making it hub and spoke.
DeleteLufthansa brings my package from China to Germany. From there it takes one of their smaller planes to Belgrade.
If you use some of the specialized postal and shipping companies they either have regular flights from their base or the country of origin if there's demand.
The second option for my case would be for my package to catch a direct flight to Belgrade from the country of origin on one of regular passenger flights in cargo hold.
Thanks for your reply
DeleteDHL maintains hub and spoke from several airports such as Leipzig.
DeleteAnd i think Nashville USA.
DeleteAnybody know the registration for the Rouge B763 that is at BEG. I know that Air Canada has already converted 2 ex-Rouge B763 and there are more ex-Rouge to be converted. They are going to Air Canada Cargo
DeleteN899MF, former C-FMXC, flown 16 Sep TUS Tucson - BEG Belgrade, landing at BEG photo:
Deletehttps://www.jetphotos.com/photo/10714436