Elbe Flugzeugwerke GmbH (EFW) announced the delivery of its first Airbus A330 passenger-to-freighter (P2F) converted aircraft to Altavair LP, a business aviation finance and leasing provider in the cargo community, which in turn will be operated by Mexico’s MasAir Cargo.
The re-delivered freighter is the first of a series of conversions EFW is carrying out for the new customer, Altavair, based on the proven and technologically advanced Airbus A330 platform. Altavair has several A330P2Fs on the order that comprises both the A330-200P2F range variant and the A330-300P2F volume variant.
“We are pleased to once again deliver our first converted freighter of 2022 to a new customer, Altavair, to be operated by MasAir Cargo,” said Andreas Sperl, EFW’s CEO.
“This investment is a reflection of our belief that the A330 will be the leading freighter in this segment,” said Paul Newrick, President and CEO of Altavair (U.K.). “We are very excited to partner with EFW and MasAir Cargo to deliver this truly next-generation converted freighter,” he added.
EFW’s first new delivery to Altavair will be the A330-200P2F variant, which offers a gross payload of up to 61 tons and a range of up to 4,200 nautical miles. MasAir Cargo is leveraging the aircraft family concept building a new fleet of Airbus freighters with the A330-200P2F and A330-300P2F, becoming the first airline in the Americas to operate the Airbus widebody P2F and the first in the world to operate both variants of the Airbus A330P2F.
See also: CDB Aviation agrees with MasAir for two Airbus A330-300 P2Fs
MasAir Cargo will replace its single Boeing 767-200 (F) and two Boeing 767-300s (ERBDSF and F), enabling it to serve markets such as Asia-Pacific and Europe with shorter stopovers and delivery times.
Similar to the latest A321P2F and A320P2F conversion programs, the A330P2F is a collaborative effort between ST Engineering, Airbus, and EFW, which leads each overall project, as well as the marketing and sales efforts.
To meet the growing demand for freighter conversions, ST Engineering and EFW will establish several new conversion sites in China and the U.S. this year and will increase total conversion capacity for its entire Airbus P2F program to approximately 60 slots per year by 2024.
