EFW and Ameco to collaborate on A330P2F conversions

November 9, 2022

Elbe Flugzeugwerke GmbH (EFW), centre of excellence for Airbus freighter conversions and Aircraft Maintenance and Engineering Corp (Ameco), largest provider of MRO services for aircraft in China, announced today at Airshow China 2022 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 programme. 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 programmes 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 programmes – 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 programmes as well as marketing and sales efforts. The A330P2F programme 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 containerised volume of up to ~18,581ft3 (~526m3).

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 this year for its A330P2F programme.

James Graham

James Graham is an award-winning transport media journalist with a long background in the commercial freight sector, including commercial aviation and the aviation supply chain. He was the initial Air Cargo Week journalist and retuned later for a stint as editor. He continues his association as editor of the monthly supplements. He has reported for the newspaper from global locations as well as the UK.