Freight EFW secures contract for A321P2F

The German-based aerospace company will convert 10 A321-200 passenger aircraft to a 14-pallet cargo configuration for Vallair. The first aircraft will be inducted in the last quarter of 2018, scheduled for re-delivery by the end of 2019.

Gregoire Lebigot, Vallair president and CEO, commented: “At Vallair, through years of trading and supporting the A320 Family, we have built a solid technical competence on this aircraft type. Today, we see a huge potential in the A321 P2F, not only as a replacement of the B757F, but as a key tool for the cargo industry to achieve the projected growth rate of the air freight market in general – in particular driven by express services and e-commerce. The A321 P2F will be the first aircraft to introduce a containerized lower deck to the market segment of narrow body freighters: a significant game changer for any hub and spoke operation."

The A321 & A320 P2F conversion programs, launched in 2015, are the result of a collaboration between ST Aerospace, Airbus and EFW. ST Aerospace is responsible for the engineering development phase, up to the Supplemental Type Certificate approval by the EASA and U.S. Federal Aviation Administration. Airbus contributes to the program with Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) data and certification support, while EFW leads the overall program and marketing & sales.

The conversion program A321P2F is the first in its size category to offer containerized loading in both the main deck (up to 14 container positions) and lower deck (up to 10 container positions). With a generous payload-range capability that can carry up to 27.9 metric tons over 2,300 nautical miles, the A321P2F could be used for domestic and regional express operations.

Luxembourg based Vallair is an aviation company offering support services for mature aircraft, engines and major components. The company has six complementary business units (trading & leasing, aircraft tear-down, aircraft MRO and paint, engines, aerostructures, and cargo conversions). The new aircraft will be positioned between the existing Boeing B737-800F and the larger B757-200PCF and Vallair’s customers will be ACMI and charter operators as well as other cargo airlines.