New China Dragon Finalizes Initial Conversions with PEMCO

TAMPA, Fla. (October 10, 2012) — The fastest growing air freight market in the world is the People’s Republic of China and CDI Cargo Airlines is a new and growing express air freight carrier. PEMCO, with its worldwide market and regulatory acceptance of more than 35 operators in 25 countries and 20 agencies, was integral in facilitating CDI Cargo’s launch and the initial project is progressing nicely with CDI reporting the aircraft are operating perfectly.

Since the company’s launch in 2011, CDI Cargo has taken an increasingly prominent position in carrying both its own freight and that of other shipping companies. The PEMCO contract focuses on the passenger-to-cargo conversions of three Boeing 737-300 aircraft (MSN 25891, MSN 27372 and MSN 27518) that initially began service for Air China in 1992, 1994 and 1996, respectively. Each will be converted into nine-position full freighters with the ability to efficiently carry payloads up to 21 tons over 2,000 nautical miles. The first aircraft conversion was completed in July 2012 and the aircraft has been operating with 99 percent dispatch reliability in this demanding operating environment. The scheduled completion for the second aircraft is mid-October 2012 and the third will be inducted prior to the year’s end. All three conversions are taking place at the HAECO Group’s STAECO/Jinan facility and the aircraft will operate in China, Japan and Korea.

“PEMCO’s recent freighter conversions for China’s newest dragon – CDI Cargo – are a testament to PEMCO’s B737 product as well as the expertise consistently exemplified by our partners at HAECO Group’s STAECO/Jinan, the site of all three CDI modifications,” stated PEMCO President, Kevin Casey. “Teaming with CDI Cargo for these three B737-300 conversions supports the strategic expansion of key partnerships regionally and across the industry and it builds on the product’s dominance in APAC, where PEMCO’s forty-four China-based B737-300/400s represent an 80 percent market share - a gratifying indication of the unequalled operability and money making ability of this premier product.”

CDI Cargo Airlines’ operation of PEMCO’s top-of-the-line freighters including innovative cargo configurations are enabling China Dragon to exceed the expectations of their customers in China’s vast and growing air freight market. And PEMCO’s B737s provides customers the best operating economics and total cost of ownership due to the AD-free robustness of Boeing data-based design, quality of PEMCO and STAECO craftsmanship, and strength of PEMCO’s industry-leading guarantees and post-mod technical support.