Were they showing a loss during the past year? Was part of the cash used to pay expenses when they were losing money? If so, not all this money is available for use for this initiative.

 

This, like many Eastern initiatives, will never fully come to pass. They may have optioned 35 retiring aircaft, or that may be a random number. There's no STC yet, so this is Silicon-Valley-like vaporware, which, as the unfolding Theranos trial is demonstrating, doesn't actually work in the real world.

I like the idea of the person who said it's to make Eastern appealing to investors: "See, we have a CARGO PLAY!!!!"

As I noted elsewhere, unless these things are going to carry boxes of feathers, significant structural modifications will be required for these to be real freighters. As will a floor system. As will a cargo door. You might get a few takers for the service for a few months if the cargo market next year remains as deranged as it is today, because if you're unable to find service anywhere, and wiling to pay inflated rates, a half-empty 777 loaded by 18 guys in 4 hours might make some money, still, for the airline. But otherwise, no. In this regard, I notice that Eastern European carrier AeroTranscargo's customer FlyPro just parked its PaxArgo 747, while Aerotranscargo continues to resuscitate basically any remaining real 747 freighter it can get its hands on.

In other words, the real-freighter market is booming while the paxargo market is not. 747-specialist MRO GMF Aeroasia in CGK is pumping 744 freighters and even 743s and 742s through its shop to get/keep them flying for non-US freight carriers. [Example: Georgian carrier GeoSky is operating two RR-powered 742 freighters and Kyrgyzstan carrier Aerostan (callsign "Big Shot") is operating two ex-Kalitta 742s, and these carriers are flying the crap out of them.] If the PaxArgo world was truly-viable, we would see it growing rather than shrinking as we approach Peak in this crazy market.

There's a reason that the Big Twin, backed by GECAS, has taken over two years of a flat-out engineering effort by experienced-converter IAI just to get to the point that they are starting to do hands-on work on the prototype. Which makes Eastern's press release delusional, in my view.

HOWEVER, given that Eastern is owned by some aircraft-leasing guys... Tying up 35 sweet retiring 777 airframes, say by inexpensively-priced options the way ATSG did with the retired-AA 767s, might make a LOT of sense in terms of assembling feedstock for IAI's expanding number of touch-work MRO providers. Right now, they have their home base at TLV, and recently added Sharp Techniks, an MRO at ICN, which is gearing up to run several conversion lines for IAI beginning in 2024. However, given that Big Twin sponsor GECAS evidently has the same idea about what to do with retiring 777s, anyone else loading up on feedstock still seems a little off. (Wouldn't GECAS be wanting to put ITS aircraft through conversion first?) If Boeing is quietly working on a BCF, or someone else is willing to make the massive investment in engineering to do this (in large part because of the weak/composite 777 main-deck floor), I can see there being a second converter by, say, 2024-2025, but until then this is, in my view, about something other than what Eastern says it is.

OR they are geniuses and there really is a demand for this thing and I'm an idiot.

Nah. A hand-loaded 777 with significant main cargo deck weight limitations isn't going to "revolutionize" anything.

 

2-5 million dollars loan total? I don’t know how much you can actually but with 5 million

 

Better get in your app in quick.

 

Maybe this will be the version of Eastern that finally rises to greatness? Lol

 

I didn't realize that 777s cost 500k a piece.

 

It does not say they purchased the 777s, all it says is “acquired feedstock” which could be options. And, half a million is likely about 5% of a 777, enough to secure the option.

By dissolving the passenger service and opening the cargo under a separate business, it’s likely they will be forgiven the PPP loans. While I don’t understand the meaning behind your statement, the cost for them to get into the cargo field has likely been floated by the taxpayer.

 

According to this article, they have already taken delivery of 10 with the remainder to come over the next few months.

 

I stand corrected. That was the most complete article I’ve seen on this whole bit.

 

‘That’s because nobody desires to take on used 772ERs.