FTAI Aviation Partners With Aeronautical Engineers To Deliver A More Cost-Effective Boeing 737-800 Freighter Solution

The collaboration will combine FTAI's engine maintenance capabilities with AEI's cargo conversion leadership to deliver customized freighter aircraft at scale and at a lower cost.

"The Boeing 737-800 is poised to become the workhorse of narrowbody freight, but growth has been constrained by the lack of an engine solution designed for cargo economics," said David Moreno, President of FTAI. "We can build and maintain lower cycle engines customized for cargo enabling FTAI and AEI to deliver aircraft at a significantly lower operating cost. This collaboration adds cargo to FTAI’s CFM56 platform, extending the engine’s lifecycle across passenger, cargo and power."

"AEI has led the global narrowbody freighter conversion market for over 60 years and has converted more aircraft than any other provider in the industry," said Robert T. Convey, Senior Vice President at AEI. "Combining our conversion expertise with FTAI's engine maintenance services gives airlines a proven path to freighter capacity built for the long term."

With almost 6,000 aircraft delivered, the Boeing 737-800 is the most widely produced narrowbody in aviation history, giving it the scale to anchor the freighter market for many years. FTAI’s ability to provide CFM56 engines is critical to support the market at scale and its aftermarket engine maintenance capabilities will play a central role in ensuring the aircraft can fly reliably and cost-effectively for airlines worldwide. As a global leader in passenger to freighter conversions for a wide array of aircraft, AEI has developed over 130 Supplemental Type Certificates (STCs), 625+ aircraft have been modified with AEI STCs – more than any other conversion provider.