Air Transport Services Group (ATSG), the world’s largest lessor of freighter aircraft, has committed to 29 Airbus A330 Passenger-to-Freighter (P2F) conversion slots with Elbe Flugzeugwerke (EFW), a joint venture between ST Engineering and Airbus. “The A330-300 passenger-to-freighter conversion is a natural next step for ATSG as it is an excellent complement to the Boeing 767-300 medium wide-body freighter, which has long been the freighter of choice for the e-commerce air cargo market,” says Mike Berger, chief commercial officer, ATSG.
“The availability of feedstock combined with impressive cargo capacity make the A330 a very attractive option for conversion and will enable ATSG to continue to meet the demands for full-capacity freighters long into the future. The customer response to the news that we will have A330-300 freighters available for lease has been exceptionally strong, and we already have customer deposits toward future leases for half of these 29 converted freighters.”
Andreas Sperl, CEO, EFW added: “To have a key market player like ATSG adopting the A330P2F programme with such a high commitment is a major milestone for us. This is a great sign of confidence in next-generation Airbus freighters and trust in EFW’s competency as a centre of excellence for Airbus freighter conversions.”
The A330P2F programme comes with two variants – the A330-200P2F and A330-300P2F – which are both equipped with advanced technology that offer airlines additional operational and economic benefits. “The A330-200P2F can carry a gross payload of up to 61 tonnes to over 7,700 km. The A330-300P2F offers a gross payload of up to 63 tonnes and a containerised volume of up to ~18,581ft3 (~526m3), which brings a new paradigm of efficiency with 23% more cargo volume than other freighter aircraft in the same class.”
