Elbe Flugzeugwerke GmbH (EFW), has just celebrated the redelivery its 100th converted Airbus freighter aircraft. The converted widebody freighter aircraft, an Airbus A330P2F, was redelivered from EFW’s facility in China.
EFW is an Airbus Passenger-to-Freighter (P2F) conversions specialist and a joint venture of ST Engineering and Airbus.
Growth of P2F Freighter Conversions
The redelivery of the first P2F aircraft for EFW’s widebody A330P2F program was in 2017. Since then, the number of annual conversions carried out by EFW has grown steadily. To date, 47 A321P2F, 4 A320P2F, and 49 A330P2F converted by EFW have joined the global fleet of Airbus freighter aircraft.
“The redelivery of our 100th Airbus P2F aircraft is a great milestone,” said Jordi Boto, CEO of EFW. “It is made possible by working closely together with our program partners, customers, and suppliers as a team.”
“Over the years, we have steadily built a strong global presence for our Airbus P2F programs. Today, we have converted aircraft that are registered in all continents. Meanwhile, our P2F aircraft are flying in key regions across the world. “
“We look forward to our next redelivery milestone. And to providing even greater value to operators with our new-generation P2F aircraft solutions.”
Crawford Hamilton, Head of Freighter Marketing at Airbus offered further comment. “Seeing the growing number of Airbus P2F converted aircraft serving cargo markets around the world on short- and medium-haul routes makes us proud.”
“Each converted freighter aircraft is based upon a proven Airbus platform, providing operators and investors a very appealing option of repurposing passenger aircraft for freight carriage.”
Success of Global Converted Freighter Fleet
Over the past 12 months, the global fleet of EFW’s converted freighter aircraft have performed a total flight distance of some 100 million flight kilometers.
Over 60% of the flights by the widebody A330P2F aircraft were carried out in Asia Pacific and Europe. Meanwhile, over 75% of the flights by the narrowbody A321 and A320P2F aircraft were in Asia Pacific and Europe.
The Airbus P2F conversion programs of EFW were developed as a collaboration between ST Engineering and Airbus, with EFW holding the Supplemental Type Certificates and leading in the overall program.
The programs include the widebody platforms – the A330-200P2F and the A330-300P2F – which were first redelivered in 2017 and 2018 respectively. The narrowbody platforms – the A321P2F and the A320P2F which were first redelivered in 2020 and 2022 respectively.
Summary
EFW’s Airbus freighter conversions offer several advantages such as OEM supported cockpit commonality and container loading in the upper and lower deck.
EFW’s P2F conversion solutions are also equipped with advanced technology that offers airlines additional operational and economic benefits.
This includes bigger containerized volume for faster loading and unloading, higher gross payload, and longer flight range compared to other freighter aircraft in the same class.
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