MRO provider HAECO Xiamen has completed its first Boeing 737-800SF freighter conversion, handing over the aircraft to lessor BlackRock Aviation Holdings III LP. 

The project is a partnership with conversion company Aeronautical Engineers Inc (AEI), a Supplemental Type Certificate holder for the 737 conversion program. 

HAECO Xiamen has been an AEI conversion center since 2020 and is the second AEI center in Greater China after Taikoo (Shandong) Aircraft Engineering Company Limited in Shandong China.

The aircraft (reg. N299BR) will be delivered to Air Incheon and is the second 737-800F to join the fleet. 

According to Aviation Week Intelligence Network Fleet and Data Services, the aircraft was operated by Ryanair between September 1998 to October 2007. It was later operated by Brazilian LCC GOL and Turkish carrier SunExpress before being sold to Aviation Holdings III LP in May 2021. The aircraft clocked 63,552 hrs. in 43,602 cycles. 

According to Association of Asia Pacific Airlines data, air cargo remains robust in Asia. Freight demand, measured in FTK, was up 18.9% year-on-year (YOY) for the first six months of 2021, while capacity, measured in FATK, edged upwards 1.6% YOY over the same period.