Inflight Canada (IFC) is on a mission to create economical and flexible use of commercial aircraft, not just in their own country but around the world. Having spent the last 44 years in the commercial airline passenger (PAX) systems retrofit business, the company has expanded into the world of passenger to freighter (P2F) retrofits.
IFC provides services and retrofit kits to the commercial airline sector, starting with retrofit designs, airworthiness engineering, retrofit kit manufacturing and installation/operation Supplemental Type Certificates (STCs), followed by the maintenance of the installed system.
“Over the past 47 years IFC has evolved from a purely maintenance organiaation through providing retrofits and up to the present where we also develop, design, test and certify various systems for use on the PAX cabins of commercial aircraft including our new Reversible Cargo system,” George Smallhorn, Inflight Canada General Manager said.
READ: Emirates SkyCargo and Air Canada enhance cargo interline cooperation
Growing demand for P2F services
During the pandemic, there was an increase in demand for P2F cargo conversions, with some companies continuing that interest over the last few years. “We saw the pandemic temporary freighters as just that, temporary and relying on “exemptions” from the various airworthiness authorities all of which have expired,” Smallhorn added.
“We view the change away from high end business travel towards seasonal leisure travel and the long term growth of e-commerce as the driving factor for the rotational use of PAX aircraft to cargo and then back to PAX,” he added.
Looking at what makes the P2F market so desirable for companies in the airline industry is the ability to flexibly utilise available aircraft. This means you don’t just purely have to be within the airfreight market, you can have other air transport businesses as well.
“The IFC “reversible” Cargo System, like all of our aircraft systems, is designed to be generic across all platforms ranging from B777- A340/A330 to B737/A320 & Canadair Regional Jet/Embraer Regional Jet, so the next step after the first aircraft is to certify the system on all aircraft types and models followed by participating in the e-Aircraft market with the LYTE Aviation LA-44 SkyTruck aircraft,” Smallhorn explained.
