Qingdao Lands World's Third Boeing 777 Conversion Hub

Qingdao in East China's Shandong province has become the world's third and Asia-Pacific's only Boeing 777 conversion hub. US-based Mammoth Freighters, a specialist in wide-body passenger-to-freighter conversions, has selected TAIKOO (Shandong) Aircraft Engineering Co Ltd to build China's first Boeing 777 wide-body passenger-to-freighter (P2F) conversion production line at Qingdao Jiaodong International Airport.

The first conversion line is scheduled to start operations in September, with a second expected to come online in 2027. Mammoth Freighters obtained FAA supplemental type certification for its 777-200LRMF conversion in April, making it the world's first officially certified 777-200LR conversion program.

The company plans to operate nine conversion lines globally: five in Fort Worth; two in Manchester, the United Kingdom; and two in Qingdao. The conversion offers significant advantages over new freighters, with a converted Boeing 777 freighter costing roughly half as much as a new one, at around $92.5 million, and having a delivery time of just six months compared to three to five years for a brand-new freighter.