Air Transport Services Group, Inc. (ATSG), the world’s largest lessor of freighter aircraft, has committed to a total of 29 Airbus A330 Passenger-to-Freighter (P2F) conversion slots with Elbe Flugzeugwerke (EFW), center of excellence for Airbus freighter conversions and a joint venture between ST Engineering and Airbus.
The commitment of 29 A330P2F reflects a strategic step by ATSG to diversify its existing in-service fleet of 117 aircraft with the addition of next generation wide-body freighters.
“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,” stated Mike Berger, chief commercial officer of 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.”
"To have a key market player like ATSG adopting the A330P2F programme with such a high commitment is a major milestone for us,” said Andreas Sperl, CEO of EFW. “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 conversions for ATSG will be performed from mid-2023 through 2027 mainly at EFW’s facility in Dresden, Germany, and also at ST Engineering’s conversion sites in China. Multiple conversions will be carried out in parallel.
Similar to the latest conversion programmes, A321P2F and A320P2F, the A330P2F programme is a collaboration between ST Engineering, Airbus and EFW, which is leading the overall programme as well as marketing & sales efforts. To meet the rising demand for freighter conversions, ST Engineering and EFW are setting up new conversion sites in China and the U.S. this year, and are ramping up conversion capacity for all their Airbus P2F programmes to about 60 slots per year by 2024.
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 tons of weight to over 7,700 km. The A330-300P2F offers a gross payload of up to 63 tons 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.
Elbe Flugzeugwerke GmbH (EFW), joint venture between ST Engineering and Airbus combines various aviation and technology activities under a single roof: development and manufacturing of fibre-reinforced composite components for aircraft structures and interiors of the entire Airbus family, the conversion of passenger aircraft into freighter configuration, maintenance and repair of Airbus aircraft as well as engineering services in the context of certification and approval. The company has a workforce of about 1,900 employees, achieved revenues of approximately €250 million in 2020 and is on a sustainable course of growth.
ST Engineering is a global technology, defence and engineering group with a diverse portfolio of businesses across the aerospace, smart city, defence and public security segments. The Group harnesses technology and innovation to solve real-world problems, enabling a more secure and sustainable world. Headquartered in Singapore, it has operations spanning Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the U.S., serving customers in more than 100 countries. ST Engineering reported revenue of $7.7b in FY2021 and ranks among the largest companies listed on the Singapore Exchange. It is a component stock of the FTSE Straits Times Index, MSCI Singapore, iEdge SG ESG Transparency Index and iEdge SG ESG Leaders Index.
Air Transport Services Group (ATSG) is a leading provider of aircraft leasing and cargo and passenger air transportation and related services to domestic and foreign air carriers and other companies that outsource their cargo and passenger air lift requirements. ATSG, through its leasing and airline subsidiaries, is the world's largest lessor of freighter aircraft as well as the largest owner and operator of converted Boeing 767 freighters. Through its principal subsidiaries, including three airlines with separate and distinct U.S. FAA Part 121 Air Carrier certificates, ATSG provides aircraft leasing, air cargo lift, passenger ACMI and charter services, aircraft maintenance services and airport ground services. ATSG's subsidiaries include ABX Air, Inc.; Airborne Global Solutions, Inc.; Airborne Maintenance and Engineering Services, Inc., including its subsidiary, Pemco World Air Services, Inc.; Air Transport International, Inc.; Cargo Aircraft Management, Inc.; and Omni Air International, LLC.
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