Top executive BoeingThis has highlighted the role cargo plays in today’s aerospace industry nearly two years ago, when travel was almost stopped due to the coronavirus epidemic.

“The freighter markets have been on fire.” That’s where we see real growth,” Stan Deal, executive vice president of Boeing, told CNBC’s Dan Murphy at the Dubai Air Show on Sunday.

Three conversion lines will be added to the company’s 737-800BCF in North America and Europe, according to the announcement. These facilities convert airplanes to freighters, and will be found at KF Aerospace Canada and London Gatwick.

Deal made the comments after Boeing had indicated that it is in advanced discussions to sell the aircraft. cargo version of its future 777X jetliner. Ihsane Munir (senior vice president commercial sales and Marketing at Boeing), told Reuters on Saturday that the company was in “profound discussions” with a variety of customers.

“The [777X freighter]It looks excellent from both a design and requirements perspective.

Prior to the pandemic, significant cargo volumes were transported on passenger aircraft. The industry shifted to dedicated cargo aircraft after the planes were grounded because of restrictions on travel.

Numerous airlines saw strong cargo volumes despite the pandemic. Emirates Airline reports a 39% rise in cargo volumes over the past half year, which brings them close to 2019 levels.

So far, we have had a very good year. This year we have booked 309 net orders and 720 gross. It’s an impressive start. These discussions continue at the airshow. We expect to receive more orders in the coming year. “And that will position well through 2022,” he stated. Boeing has placed orders exceeding 700 for the years between 2014 and 2018.

“[2022]It will all be about growth. He said that it will be about producing more of our narrow body, 737 Max and wide-bodied markets. We’ll still see continued recovery when the international markets return.”

Deal stated that Boeing would continue to monitor the global vaccination rate for the coronavirus pandemic.

We see this as the key to recovery. It is a good indicator of how well every country recovers. He said that there is talk about the third vaccine being introduced to the arms of people all over the world. “So, I believe we will see a continued proliferation vaccines that will unleash and rebuild confidence in the public for recovery.”

—CNBC’s Dan Murphy contributed to this article.