Aircraft Asset Assessment: B767-300

Market Presence. The values of passenger configured B767-300ERs have fallen to a level that make their acquisition for freighter conversion a practical proposition. The price of the aircraft needs to be below $10-15m in order to provide a realistically priced alternative to those existing cargo aircraft. Those –300ERs built at a later date and featuring later engine variants will incur a higher price. It has to be assumed that the acquired aircraft will require some remedial action, particularly those acquired for a low price and from operators with a less stringent maintenance programme. For those operators also operating the B767, conversion can be a viable proposition. Based on an acquisition cost of $5-15m for a B767-300ER, a cost of conversion of $12-14m plus airframe and engine overhauls costing some $5m and another $0.5m for incidentals, the final cost will be considerable for a zero time aircraft. Consequently the productivity of the B767-300SFs will have to be sufficiently better to ensure that the capital cost can be reduced to a sufficiently low level. The sustained high price of fuel has gone some way to redressing the balance.