Accelerated retirements and declining residual values have prompted turboprop manufacturers to step up efforts to provide cargo conversions for their aircraft.
Conversions for the ATR 72 and Saab 340 should appear this summer, giving regional cargo carriers new opportunities to expand their fleets. Cargo conversions are now only available for smaller and older turboprops, such as the 19-seat Fairchild Metro and Raytheon Beech 1900 and 30-seat Embraer EMB-120 Brasilia.
Northstar Aviation Services president Bud Calloway predicts the turboprop freighter fleet will double by 2020 to nearly 2,600 aircraft. He expects the Saab 340, the ATR 72 and the proposed ATR 42 freighter to fill much of this void given their current costs and promised improvements over the Brasilia. "These are the new kids on the block for this alternative application," he says.
ATR president John Moore says the first ATR 72 outfitted with a large cargo door will be on display at the 2002 Farnborough air show in July. ATR and modification partner Aeronavali have lined up Switzerland's Farnair as launch customer and the duo are now looking to extend the programme to the smaller ATR 42, with FedEx the primary target.
Saab Aircraft Leasing president Michael Magnusson says a prototype 340 converted freighter should be completed this summer (Flight International, 30 April - 6 May). Saab does not plan to fly the aircraft to Farnborough and has not yet lined up a launch customer. But Magnusson expects orders to roll in once the prototype can be demonstrated, with Mesaba Airlines a possible but so far reluctant candidate.
Mesaba has been exploring the idea of expanding into the cargo business as it evaluates long-term plans for its massive Saab 340 fleet. "Obviously, with 83 Saabs, we'd like to put some into cargo," says Mesaba. "It's something we want to do, but the demand is not there."
FedEx, meanwhile, is evaluating the ATR 42 as a possible replacement for the defunct Ayres Loadmaster. Moore hopes to sell 50-100 aircraft to FedEx, but acknowledges the ATR 42 does not exactly fill the role planned for the Loadmaster, which was designed purely to carry packages.
Calloway says the ATR's ability to carry LD3-size containers gives the aircraft an advantage over other candidates. But the Saab 340, which can carry about 4t compared with the ATR 42's 5.5t, is almost $1 million cheaper. Calloway estimates it will cost $2.1 million to acquire a converted Saab 340, $3 million for an ATR 42 and $5.5 million for an ATR 72. He says a Brasilia freighter can now be acquired for $1.8 million and a Metro freighter for $1.1 million.
With their narrower three-abreast cabins, neither the Brasilia nor the Saab 340 can carry containers, but Calloway says the 340 offers higher floor loading and more volume than the Brasilia. There are now 29 Brasilia converted freighters in service, he says, and a quick-change conversion is now under development.
However, the newly available ATR 42 and Saab 340 conversions will mainly replace factory-built freighters, including some of the estimated 39 1900s, 157 Metros and 89 Fokker F27s now in service. There are also 21 ATR 42s and a handful of 340s and ATR 72s in service as freighters, but they do not have large cargo doors.
Source: Flight International
