A crowd of distinguished air cargo executives gathered for Cargo Facts Symposium 2019, held at the Intercontinental San Diego. Although the air cargo industry faces uncertainty on multiple fronts such as trade and political headwinds, and aircraft program complications, delegates remain overwhelmingly upbeat on long-term growth prospects for the industry. A few highlights from the Symposium include: The 737-800 may be in a pickle, but is expected to become the most successful narrowbody freighter. During Cargo Facts Symposium Boeing announced an order for ten 737-800BCF conversions from an unidentified customer [FATs 005202-5211]. This brings the total number of orders and commitments for the 737-800BCF to 130 units, 30 of which were logged in 2019. Panelists on an appraisers panel, and 62% of delegates voting in a live poll at the Symposium, expect the 737-800 to be converted in the greatest numbers among the Classic and NG airframe types, which include A320-200, A321-200, 737-400 and 737-800 airframe types. Not so fast, said George Dimitroff, head of valuations at Ascend. Dimitroff opined the success of the 737-800 as a narrowbody freighter could ultimately depend on how the pickle fork issue plays out, and whether there is a significant impact on the conversion cost. Other panelists see the issue as temporary, and expect the long-term impact to be minimal.
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