“The P2F conversion market is huge and this is our strength. We are converting a Boeing 777 that can carry 100 tons of cargo, which is the first of its kind in the world and will be a game changer in the freighter industry. Large jets (B747) have the most freighters It can carry 115 tons, but this is a four-engine aircraft (more fuel consumption). As of now, twin-engine wide-body freighters can carry up to 60 tons, so you can imagine the demand for B777 and A330 freighters.
IAI, which also produces the Gulfstream G280 and wings for the F35 and F16, has four plants in four locations: Abu Dhabi in South Korea and two in the United States. “By 2027, all these sites will be full. India has the capability to have wide-body conversion facilities and the potential is huge. We are in talks with HAL and another company. There are situations in our region (tensions in the Middle East, flights to Israel are currently has been suspended). We need some quiet. We want to complete the construction of the Indian factory early, hopefully by the end of this year, so that it can be ready within a year and operational by 2026. HAL has no problem with that. Comment.
Asked about the scale of investment in the Indian factory, he said: “It will be millions of dollars. The most important thing is human resources; training them through on-the-job training in our factories; several hangars at the airport and suitable Partner.
Kuzi sees a huge demand for widebody conversions within India and sees factories here doing this work for customers across the globe. “Each hangar can modify 2.1 aircraft per year. It takes about five months or 100,000 man-hours to modify a wide-body aircraft because it is a highly technical job. The average cost of modifying a wide-body aircraft is 3,800 million, but it depends on how many aircraft the customer purchases for the job,” he said.
Indian airlines, led by IndiGo, Air India and Alkasa, currently have over 1,200 aircraft on order. The demand for engine MRO here will be huge. “We see no reason for IAI not to start engine MRO in India,” he said.
