The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) delivered Elbe Flugzeugwerke (EFW) the Supplemental Type Certificate for the Airbus A320 Passenger-to-Freighter (P2F), the world’s first one to be converted to freighter. The prototype will join Airbus P2F programs that already include the A330-200P2F, A330-300P2F, and A321P2F.
This certificate is issued to aircraft that have undergone significant modifications to the original design, but which are not significant enough to require a new Type Certificate. It is issued by the competent authority after verifying that the changes comply with the regulations in force.
The Airbus A320P2F is currently being developed in collaboration between the German manufacturer, the Airbus consortium and ST Engineering, a Singapore-based engineering company. EFW is leading the marketing and sales efforts for the program. The prototype aircraft, owned by ST Engineering, will be leased.
With the certification, the Airbus A320P2F is closer to market entry. The large number of A320s in operation worldwide represents an opportunity for conversion from the passenger version, especially for companies operating fleets composed entirely of Airbus aircraft.
The A320P2F will have ten main decks and seven lower deck cargo positions, with a total payload of 21.9 tonnes. While its capacity will be less than that of other freighters, its 85% stowage efficiency and ability to operate on shorter runways make it an attractive option. This becomes especially relevant for the growing e-commerce market.
In that context, demand for conversions from passenger aircraft to freighter versions is booming. EFW and ST Engineering plan to open new centers in China and the United States. They are also working to increase the conversion capacity of all their Airbus P2F programs to more than sixty per year by 2024.
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