Jordanian MRO provider Joramco plans to team with Boeing in setting up a Boeing Converted Freighter (BCF) line in the Middle East.
The line will be constructed at Joramco’s Amman base and will support conversions of both domestic and foreign aircraft.
It is the latest in a series of BCF conversion lines the airframer has announced in recent years. These have included one at Boeing’s MRO site at London Gatwick Airport and two at KF Aerospace’s facility at Kelowna, British Columbia, in Canada. Earlier in 2023, Boeing also announced a partnership with Hyderabad, India-based MRO provider GMR Aero Technic for further conversions.
Joramco is a subsidiary of Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE), whose leasing division, DAE Capital, has around 550 aircraft in its portfolio. The Jordanian MRO will support future 737-800BCF customers operating across the Middle East, Europe, North Africa, and the CIS nations.
“Today’s announcement reaffirms our long-term commitment to our DAE Engineering division,” DAE CEO Firoz Tarapore said Aug. 22.
“Since acquiring Joramco in 2016, revenues have more than doubled, and we continue to expand our presence at our Amman, Jordan-based facility, which is expected to reach 22 maintenance lines by the end of 2024. This latest agreement underpins our commitment, and we look forward to continuing to deepen our relationship with Boeing as well as developing new product offerings for Joramco’s global customer base.”
“The new 737-800BCF capability we’re bringing to our MRO is another major milestone for Joramco,” the company’s CEO, Fraser Currie, added.
“We continue to look for opportunities to bring freighter conversion capacity closer to our customers,” Boeing Commercial Programs VP of engineering services, converted freighters and sub-components Mike Doellefeld said. “Connecting with Joramco reflects the potential of a growing region combined with an MRO partner capable of producing the BCF with the quality our customers expect.”
A source with knowledge of the deal told Aviation Week Aug. 22 that a time frame for setting up the new conversion line in Amman has not yet been announced but was expected in the near future. Potential annual throughput at the Amman conversion line has also not been revealed, “but the target is to have it as a nose-to-tail conversion line.”
Feedstock aircraft may come from Boeing, DAE, or individual airlines.
Boeing’s latest Commercial Market Outlook says that the global freighter fleet will grow by 65% to more than 3,700 in 2042, and that this growth will require more than 2,800 production and converted freighter deliveries over the next two decades, including around 1,300 standard-body freighter conversions, such as the 737-800BCF.
The Joramco announcement comes despite a softening of cargo demand worldwide and a large number of new, or announced, freighter conversion lines worldwide, leading some observers to express concern at a possible over-supply of cargo aircraft.
However, “Boeing wouldn’t be entering into this agreement if they didn’t see demand,” the source commented to Aviation Week.
