Fast 5: Coopesa’s Ramp-Up For the 737-800BCF

What’s the status of the Boeing 737-800BCF program announced May 2021?

The first conversion line started about 30 days ago. In preparation, we trained and organized a dedicated space. There’s a lot of excitement after doing so much preparation and now starting the work. We’re finally able to showcase what we can do and we’re partnering with one of the biggest names in aviation.

How long do you expect the first conversion to take?

The first will take 130 days. We’ve done a lot of modeling to understand the work so our goal is to take it down to 67 days.

How long do you expect that learning curve to take?

It depends on the complexity of each plane, but I think it will take three or four conversions to get the hang of it and understand what else we can develop, such as tools.

How many aircraft do you expect to complete annually?

We’re going to start a second line on July 15, which will run in parallel with the first. Once we are up to speed, we should be able to deliver close to eight aircraft per year.

Did you have to add staff to support this conversion program?

Coopesa is a co-op, so all of the technicians are company owners. We have a steady in-house training program and we know that we are going to grow with this Boeing program. So, we assigned technicians with a lot of experience to work on the conversion and we are developing new technicians to backfill our workforce to enable us to further grow and provide more services.