Yesterday Monday (21) Mas Air officially introduced America’s first Airbus A330-200 P2F and its new branding, which is now reduced to «MAS».
The aircraft of Aerotransportes Mas de Carga (MAS) was delivered via leasing from Altavair under registration EY-MYY and was previously operated by Etihad Airways.
It was converted to freighter status by Elbe Flugzeugwerke (EFW), a joint venture between Airbus and ST Engineering, joining the Airbus family of operators in Latin America.
According to the manufacturer: the A330-200 P2F (passenger-to-freighter) is a freighter that can carry up to 61 metric tons and offers a range of up to 4,200 nautical miles. It will enable the company to continue its expansion into Europe, Asia, and South America.
To meet the needs, ST Engineering and EFW will establish new conversion sites in China and the U.S. this year. They will increase total conversion capacity for all of its Airbus P2F programs to approximately 60 slots per year by 2024.
The manufacturer stated that the A330 offers a highly capable platform for freighter conversion. More than 1,600 aircraft have been ordered and more than 1,300 have been delivered since the entry into service in 1994. Consequently providing a large source of aircraft to support the conversion program for many years to come.
Demo flight de mas.
Volando mas alto y mas lejos, juntos vamos por mas.#movingcargodeliveringdreams #transformation #masair pic.twitter.com/O6O7w1Kw0l— acobis (@acobis1) February 20, 2022
«We are excited to have MAS join the Airbus family of operators in Mexico and experience the benefits of operating this new generation freighter. The A330-200P2F will provide MAS with a highly efficient operation thanks to its increased payload capacity and range» said Arturo Barreira, Airbus President for Latin America and the Caribbean.
«Its optimized fuselage cross-section offers flexibility to carry a wide variety of pallet and container sizes. Airbus is confident that the A330-200 P2F will successfully support MAS’ expansion plans,» continued Barreira.
Headquartered in Mexico City, MAS has been operating freighter aircraft since 1992. In December 2018, the airline launched an ambitious expansion plan under new ownership and management, with Discovery Americas, a private equity fund in Mexico.
«MAS will leverage the A330’s increased payload and range to expand our global footprint, increasing flights to Europe and South America and beginning to fly to China. The A330 P2F’s innovative reliability and reduced environmental impact make it the ideal aircraft for MAS to succeed in the global cargo market,» said Luis Sierra, the airline’s CEO.
MAS Air Cargo Airlines
Airbus A330 will accompany its fleet of one Boeing 767-200 (SF), one 767-300 (ERBDSF), and one Boeing 767-300 (F). The company plans to take delivery of another Airbus A330-200 (P2F) and two Airbus A330-300s (P2F) during the course of 2022.
This ambitious growth plan aims to have 18 aircraft by 2024, ten Boeing and eight Airbus. It will also include 10 additional routes in Asia, Europe and South America, in addition to its 18 links in the United States, Canada, Colombia, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Peru, Germany and China.
As a complement to this new phase, the airline renewed its corporate image, which was designed by the Australian firm Cato Brand Partners.
The company highlighted that between 2019 and 2021 they have added 230 employees to their workforce, reaching 320 workers. In addition, they generate 1,200 indirect jobs reaching 1,600.
MAS’ expansion was reflected in 2021, when it mobilized 102,768,830 tons of cargo, which represented a growth of 78.1% compared to 2019, according to the Federal Civil Aviation Agency (AFAC). This makes it Mexico’s leading cargo carrier.
Current A330 freighters
Currently, in the Americas, Avianca Cargo is the only operator of the factory-fitted Airbus A330-200 (F), of which it owns six aircraft. But for the time being, MAS Air will be the only operator of the P2F program in the region.
The other airlines with such a model are Egyptair Cargo with three A330-200s (P2F), Air Hong Kong with three A330-200s (P2F), ASL Airlines Ireland with three A330-300s (P2F), DHL’s EAT Leipzig with two A330-300s (P2F), MNG Airlines and TITAN with one A330-300 (P2F) each.
They will soon be joined by Qantas with two A330-200s (P2F), Turkmenistan Airlines with two Airbus A330-200s (P2F), Sichuan Airlines with two A330-300s (P2F), and Jiangxi Cargo Airlines with one A330-300 (P2F). Recently, CDB Aviation committed to 12 additional conversions with EFW, expanding to fourteen A330 P2Fs, four of them for MAS and three for the aforementioned Chinese airlines.
On the other hand, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) will convert thirty A330-300 passenger aircraft for cargo transport to be delivered to lessor Avolon between 2025 and 2028.
