EgyptAir (MS, Cairo International) has received back a B737-800 it sent to the US for conversion. SU-GCP (msn 35560) ferried back to Cairo late last week and is now officially a B737-800(SF) and the carrier's first dedicated narrowbody freighter.
ch-aviation had previously reported on the conversion that was undertaken by Florida-based Aeronautical Engineers, Inc. (AEI). SU-GCP was retired from passenger operations in March 2022. In September, it was ferried to Miami ahead of the conversion. Three months later, in December 2022, the Egyptian Civil Aviation Authority granted the 12-pallet position B737-800SF freighter a type certificate.
The aircraft now offers a main deck payload of up to 23,904 kilograms and incorporates eleven full-height 88” x 125” container positions plus an additional position for an AEP/AEH. The conversion included new floor beams aft of the wing box, and a large 86” x 137” main cargo door with a single vent door system.
SU-GCP, which will fly for Egyptair's cargo subsidiary, EgyptAir Cargo, was ferried from Miami International to Cairo International via New York JFK and Dublin International on February 3. It will join two A330-200(P2F)s already in the EgyptAir Cargo fleet. An EgyptAir official told ch-aviation that the airline had not yet set a re-entry into service date for SU-GCP but a best-case scenario was the end of this month. Last year, EgyptAir Holding chairman and CEO Amr Abu El-Enein said the conversion was part of EgyptAir's cargo and passenger fleet modernisation plan. "We will continue to increase the size of our fleet and open new freighter markets in the coming years to meet the growing needs of the local market in terms of exporting goods abroad," he said.
