DALLAS — The air freight business is booming for US airline Alaska Air Cargo (AS), so it will convert two Boeing 737-800 passenger jets into freighters. This will expand its fleet to five aircraft and almost double its cargo capacity.

Alaska Air Cargo operates a network with over 100 destinations throughout the US, Canada, and Mexico and transports more than 200 million pounds of freight each year. Revenue for AS increased 25% year over year in 2021 to US$216m, matching performance in 2019. Revenue from cargo was US$199m in 2018.

The two Boeing 737-800 passenger planes were converted by AS' cargo arm as a result of the increase in demand for air freight. Three conversion freighters built on the Boeing 737-700 have been put into service by AS as of October 2017, making it the first airline to do so.

The modified Boeing 737-800s will be able to carry 40% more weight per flight than the -700s thanks to their nearly 50,000-pound payload capacity. Additionally, the -800s have a 2,800-mile range.

Conversions Instead of Leases

The conversion of the Boeing 737-800 will take some time to be delivered to AS this year, the passenger seats and the galley have to be removed, the windows firmly compacted, a new floor for heavy containers laid, and large cargo doors installed at a cost between US$4.4m and US$65m per plane.

Airlines are currently deciding to convert a few of their older passenger aircraft into cargo jets. For example, for the past few years, Air Canada (AC) has also converted eight of its old Boeing 767 jets into freighters instead of leasing new cargo planes.

Featured image: Alaska Airlines N512AS Boeing 737-890 by Ryan Scottini/Airways