Elbe Flugzeugwerke (EFW) and Aircraft Maintenance and Engineering Corp (Ameco), announced a new collaboration on Airbus Passenger-to-Freighter (P2F) conversions.
Under the partnership, Ameco will carry out P2F conversions as a third-party service provider for EFW’s A330P2F program. Conversions will be carried out at Ameco’s facilities in Chengdu, China, with the first induction of an A330 aircraft scheduled in 2023.
“We are very pleased to gain a renowned partner in China through our latest collaboration with Ameco, which is well experienced in freighter conversions,” said Jordi Boto, CEO of EFW. “The partnership will support the strategy in positioning our freighter conversion programs as a solution of choice as well as cementing our strong presence in China, which is one of the largest and fastest growing aviation markets in the world.”
“We look forward to cooperating with EFW to support the market demand and to promote the air cargo industry development,” said Lun Chen, CEO of Ameco. “Conversions have always been a strategic product of Ameco. This cooperation will expand the P2F market and provide better service to our customers.”
EFW’s family of Airbus P2F programs — A320P2F, A321P2F and A330P2F — is developed in collaboration with ST Engineering and Airbus, with EFW holding the Supplemental Type Certificate and leading in the overall programs as well as marketing and sales efforts. The A330P2F program comes with two variants — the A330-200P2F and A330-300P2F — which are both equipped with advanced technology that offers 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, while the larger A330-300P2F can carry a gross payload of up to 63 tons and a containerized volume of up to 18,581 cubic feet (526 cubic meters).
To meet the rising demand for freighter conversions, ST Engineering and EFW have set up new conversion sites in China and the U.S. to ramp up total conversion capacity. AMECO is the second third-party conversion house after Turkish Technic that EFW formed a partnership with for its A330P2F program.