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Egyptair adds 1st 737-800 cargo jet to fleet

Airline weighs new business doing passenger-to-freighter conversions

Eric Kulisch
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An EgyptAir 737-800 passenger jet takes off from Munich Airport in Germany. The cargo version of this aircraft has all the windows plugged. (Photo: Shutterstock/Dirk Daniel Mann)

(Updated April 25, 2023 12 p.m. ET with news of first flight activity)

Egyptair has taken delivery of its first Boeing 737-800 cargo jet following the jet’s conversion from passenger configuration by an independent supplier, but the company is now considering a new business rebuilding the aircraft type for dedicated cargo operations at its own maintenance repair facility. 

Egyptair recently received the 737-800 converted freighter from Miami-based Aeronautical Engineers Inc., which designed and built the modification kit, confirmed Robert Convey, AEI’s senior vice president of sales and marketing. The first flight took place in mid-April from Cairo to Milan, according to LinkedIn post from one of the pilots. Actual production was carried out by Commercial Jet, a provider of aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul services also based in Miami.

The Egyptian Civil Aviation Authority in December approved a supplemental certification for AEI’s changes to the 737-800 airframe. Passenger-to-freighter conversions involve removing seats and other passenger equipment, installing window plugs and a rigid barrier behind the cockpit, reinforcing the main deck floor, interior walls and wing box, cutting in a wide cargo door, and adding a container handling system.


The AEI configuration can hold 11 full-height containers, and a small unit, on the main deck. 

And Egyptair is exploring whether to expand the capabilities of its maintenance and engineering unit to include cargo conversions, Aviation Daily reported. A conversion business would allow Egyptair to convert planes for other customers, as well as for its own use. It could become a licensed facility under the conversion programs managed by AEI, Boeing or Israel Aircraft Industries.

Egyptair Cargo plans to grow its freighter fleet and serve more markets after experiencing gains during the COVID period. The company currently operates three Airbus A330-200 widebody cargo jets.

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Eric Kulisch

Eric is the Supply Chain and Air Cargo Editor at FreightWaves. An award-winning business journalist with extensive experience covering the logistics sector, Eric spent nearly two years as the Washington, D.C., correspondent for Automotive News, where he focused on regulatory and policy issues surrounding autonomous vehicles, mobility, fuel economy and safety. He has won two regional Gold Medals and a Silver Medal from the American Society of Business Publication Editors for government and trade coverage, and news analysis. He was voted best for feature writing and commentary in the Trade/Newsletter category by the D.C. Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. He won Environmental Journalist of the Year from the Seahorse Freight Association in 2014 and was the group's 2013 Supply Chain Journalist of the Year. In December 2022, Eric was voted runner up for Air Cargo Journalist by the Seahorse Freight Association. As associate editor at American Shipper Magazine for more than a decade, he wrote about trade, freight transportation and supply chains. He has appeared on Marketplace, ABC News and National Public Radio to talk about logistics issues in the news. Eric is based in Vancouver, Washington. He can be reached for comments and tips at ekulisch@freightwaves.com