Indian low-cost carrier IndiGo took delivery of its first Airbus A321P2F (Passenger-to-Freighter). The airline leased the airplane from Castlelake Aviation Holdings, an aviation asset investment company that offers aircraft financing and leasing solutions.
«We are pleased to receive our first A321P2F», said Mahesh Malik, CCO of CarGo, IndiGo’s air cargo division. «CarGo has always been a success story for us, especially highlighted during the pandemic», he remarked. In this regard, the executive highlighted that the segment «brought in revenues when the scheduled commercial flights were at a standstill».
He also said the partnership with Airbus will allow IndiGo to optimize their cargo business and «act as a strong engine of economic growth for the country». The addition of the freighter will allow them to strengthen the service of transporting inputs and goods in India, but also to and from markets such as China and the Middle East, which are experiencing growth in demand for such services.
IndiGo’s A321P2F cargo aircraft for IndiGo CargGo in Delhi. https://t.co/gUICt9o7HD © Shrey Chopra pic.twitter.com/5cTTmXjkKe
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With the addition of an aircraft of its own operation dedicated exclusively to air cargo transport, IndiGo will seek to take advantage of the growth of the e-commerce market and air cargo transport in general. In doing so, it will join a growing number of operators who have decided to do the same.
The Airbus A321P2F is the converted freighter version of the larger A320 family variant. IndiGo’s new aircraft has 24 container positions and can carry a payload of up to 27 tonnes.
The conversions are currently being carried out under a programme developed by Airbus and its joint venture, Elbe FlugzeugWerke, and ST Engineering, a multinational technology and engineering group with a major division dedicated to the aerospace industry.
See also: ACIA Aero Leasing and IPR Conversions to Convert Three ATR 72-600 Aircraft
