Korean Air approved to convert 777-300ER for cargo operations

Korean Air has received approval from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to remodel a Boeing 777-300ER passenger aircraft for cargo operations. This is the first such approval it has received, the airline tells Cirium, and it plans to convert one more 777-300ER, having based its decision on cost-demand analysis. While the remodelled aircraft is not allowed to take passengers, the changes are not permanent. “Once [passenger travel is] back to normal, and if we need passenger aircraft, then seats will be back into the aircraft.” MOLIT said in a 1 September statement that it jointly supervised the modifications for Korean Air’s 777-300ER with manufacturer Boeing, and the process involved changes to the cabin area. This entailed the removal of 42 business and 227 economy-class seats, and in-flight electrical wiring, as well as the installation of placards in the cabin floor, among other modifications. The changes increased the aircraft’s cargo capacity to 32.8 tonnes, compared with 22 tonnes originally, from the lower-deck cargo hold, according to Korean Air.<br/>