Shanghai Airlines will add its first dedicated freighters next year when two of its Boeing 757-200s will be converted to cargo configuration by Precision Conversions. The two Pratt & Whitney PW2037-powered aircraft are leased from International Lease Finance (ILFC), which has signed the conversion contract with Precision.
The first aircraft will begin modification in August, with the second following in November. Both aircraft will re-enter service in the first quarter of 2005. "The 757 freighters will provide Shanghai Airlines with opportunities to expand our cargo operations which we think have good potential for future growth," says the carrier's chairman Zhou Chi. ILFC chairman and chief executive Steven Udvar-Hazy believes more 757s in its portfolio will enter the cargo role. "Our plans are to convert three to four aircraft a year," he says.
Source: Flight International
