The world’s first Boeing 737-700 FlexCombi aircraft, created in collaboration with Air Transport Services Group subsidiary Pemco Conversions, was delivered to Bahrain-based cargo carrier Texel Air on Tuesday.
This comes just one month after the US Federal Aviation Administration approved Pemco’s Passenger-to-FlexCombi conversion program for the Boeing 737-700 Next Generation aircraft.
The converted FlexCombi aircraft features up to seven flexible configurations, including one for medevac requirements, that can be interchanged in as little as 12 hours.
The first Boeing 737-700FC (for FlexCombi), a 16-year-old newly converted jet, was delivered to Texel Air’s hangar at Bahrain International Airport on Tuesday. The aircraft previously flew passengers for Air Berlin and Yakutia Airlines.
The plane’s delivery was welcomed by the airline, the government, and shareholders.
“We are delighted to welcome the arrival of our first-of-a-kind Boeing 737-700 FlexCombi to the Kingdom of Bahrain, where we have proudly grown from an organic start-up airline to a leading innovator,” Texel Air chief executive George Chisholm said.
“From our strategic position in Bahrain, a growing regional hub for aviation and logistics, we will operate this versatile aircraft, serving an international roster of clients that have long awaited a solution that provides them with unmatched levels of flexibility.”
Multiple configurations
The first FlexiCombi has the capacity to interchange between three “initial” configurations, however Pemco Conversions has planned for the aircraft to take up to seven unique configurations.
For now, Texel Air can choose between the following three configurations:
- Cargo mode – consisting of eight pallet positions for cargo, with a fully removable passenger interior.
- Combi 1 – consisting of seven pallet positions and 12 economy seats.
- Combi 2 – consisting of six pallet positions and 24 economy seats
In the future, the Boeing 737-700FC will also be able to configure as:
- Combi 3 – including six pallet positions, with 12 economy, and four business class seats.
- Combi 4 – including six pallet positions and eight business class seats.
- Combi 5 – including seven pallet positions and four business class seats
- Medevac – with six pallet positions, two Spectrum Aeromed stretchers, and six economy seats.
The Boeing 737-700FC is the latest of a string of collaborations between Pemco and Texel Air, and almost a near-miss for the conversion company.
Texel reportedly initially reached out to Boeing itself for a solution to its configuration woes, however brought the project back to Pemco Conversions in the end.
The collaborative program initially commenced in 2017.
