Saudia Aerospace Engineering Industries (SAEI) announced that, under Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 plan, it would build an aircraft conversion facility, which will be dedicated to modifications, maintenance, and passenger-to-freight (P2F) conversions.
SAEI has more than 5,000 employees and 45 stations around the world. The company performs maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) of aircraft. In addition to Saudia, its clients include flynas and the now-defunct SaudiGulf.
The project, a multifunctional conversion bay, will be financed by the state, which owns the entire Saudia Group. This building will provide Saudi Arabia with a crucial foothold from which to integrate aircraft maintenance and conversion.
With this additional capacity, it will seek to meet the expansion of its cargo fleet. In addition to carrying out a conversion, this facility will also implement the manufacture of structural components.
To bring forward the entry of operational capacity, Saudia placed an order with Mammoth Freighters for seven Boeing 777 P2Fs. In addition, it placed purchase options for five additional units of the twin-engine aircraft.
The conversions will be carried out at Mammoth’s U.S. facility. However, SAEI plans to perform work on additional Boeing 777-300ERs at the modification center once it is operational.
