China Southern Airlines takes delivery of first 737-300 Quick Change Cargo Aircraft

China Southern Airlines has taken delivery of its newest aircraft, a completely renovated Boeing 737-300 QC (Quick Change) cargo aircraft, which will be used jointly by China Post Airlines and China Southern. China Southern Airlines holds a 49% share of China Post Airlines.

The delivery today is the first of four conversions being completed by PEMCO World Air Services. 

“The QC aircraft is designed to provide maximum utilization and revenue by allowing passenger use during the day and cargo operations at night,” said Mr. Rick Smith, Director of Sales and Marketing, PEMCO World Air Services. “The first two 737-300 aircraft being delivered to China Southern will be Quick Change and the next two aircraft will be all cargo aircraft.” All four Boeing 737-300 aircraft are leased from GE Capital Aviation Services.

Passenger seats in the Boeing 737-300QC aircraft can be removed within 45 minutes and the aircraft can be available for cargo flights. Once cargo service is completed, the seats can be quickly locked back into place and ready for passenger service. 

PEMCO technicians and engineers worked for three months to convert the standard passenger configuration Boeing 737-300 into a Quick Change freighter design. “These converted aircraft will be equipped with all of PEMCO’s latest upgrades including the PEMCO redesigned main cargo door. These new design features are unique to PEMCO, and increase aircraft dispatch reliability and reduce maintenance costs- both important features for today’s competitive airline and air cargo marketplace” said Mr. Smith.

Each of the two QC aircraft can accommodate eight cargo containers with a total payload of approximately 38,000 lbs and the 737-300F cargo aircraft can carry nine cargo containers with a total capacity of up to 40,000 lbs of cargo.

These are the first 737-300 passenger aircraft converted by PEMCO exclusively for China Southern/China Post Airlines operations within the PRC. By year-end, PEMCO expects to have up to 7 B737-300 cargo conversion airplanes operating in China, including four operating for China Southern/China Post.