Ethiopian to open 767-300P2F line with IAI, and set to increase cargo fleet

Ethiopian Airlines has signed a partnership agreement with Israel Aerospace Industries for the opening of a B767-300 P2F conversion line at Addis Ababa airport.

A press release said the first aircraft due to undergo conversion in Addis Ababa will be three Ethiopian B767-300(ER)s. Once converted into B767-300(ERBDSF)s, they will be the first aircraft of the type in Ethiopian’s freighter fleet which currently consists of three B737-800(SF)s and nine B777-Fs.

Ethiopian has three B767-300(ER)s in its inventory namely ET-ALJ (in service for the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service), ET-ALO, ET-ALP that are currently inactive commercial services. A fourth B767, ET-AWQ, though on Ethiopian’s AOC, is actually owned by CEIBA Intercontinental(C2, Malabo) which uses it as a VIP transport.

An Ethiopian spokesperson has since confirmed to ch-aviation the three active in-house jets are the ones slated for P2F conversion, which will start in September.

IAI’s Executive VP and General Manager of Aviation Group, Yossi Melamed, said: “We are witnessing a sharp rise in the demand for cargo aircraft as a result of the rise in e-commerce, which has peaked to record levels during the COVID-19 pandemic. IAI has an excellent reputation as a conversion centre of passenger-to-freighters aircraft, and we are constantly receiving requests to open such conversion centres in more and more locations around the world. I am excited by the opening of the current centre in Ethiopia, and thank my colleagues in Ethiopian Airlines for the trust they have put in IAI’s Aviation Group, as the world’s leader in conversions.”