GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS), the commercial aircraft leasing and financing arm of GE,has delivered the first of 11 converted Boeing 737F freighters to TNT Airways to replace its
existing B737 fleet.The 11 aircraft – nine Boeing 737-400s and two 737-300s – will be converted by Israel AircraftIndustries (IAI) at their conversion centers in China and Israel, and will be delivered to theairline over the next 18 months.
“We are delighted to expand our freighter conversion program with our longstanding customer TNTAirways,” said Richard Greener, senior vice president, specialty markets for GECAS. “We can helpTNT meet their fleet optimisation needs and extend the life of select aircraft types in ourportfolio.”
TNT currently leases 10 converted freighters from GECAS. The air carrier plans to use theaircraft to increase the capacity of its European operations. TNT Airways has been a GECAScustomer since 2003.
Niky Terzakis, TNT Global Air Network Managing Director, said: “We are very pleased to beentering into another agreement with GECAS for the replacement of our B737 fleet. Our companies areboth focused on providing excellent service and reliability. We know we have found an excellentbusiness partner to support our mission of being the fastest and most reliable express deliverysupplier and offer our customers the highest levels of service that are unique to our company.”
GECAS started its cargo program in 2001 with the conversion of 15 passenger 737s from itscurrent portfolio to freighter and quick-change configuration. Since then, GECAS has placed36 converted 737Fs with freight carriers. Today, GECAS leases a total of 91 freighteraircraft — including Boeing 747Fs, 767Fs, 777Fs and MD-11Fs – with 31 operators worldwide.
