Elbe Flugzeugwerke GmbH (EFW), centre of excellence for Airbus Passenger-to-Freighter (P2F) conversions, re-delivered its 10th A330-300P2F aircraft to DHL Express on 3rd January, in time for the Asian high season for e-commerce and cargo demand.
DHL Express, launch customer for EFW’s A330-300P2F program, is currently the biggest operator of the A330-300P2F fleet. DHL Express’ A330-300P2F fleet will continue to grow, with eight more aircraft on firm order to be redelivered by EFW of which some are already inducted for a conversion in Dresden, Germany at EFW. Together with partner airlines EAT, ASL and Air Hong Kong, DHL Express is operating its A330-300P2F fleet in Europe and Asia as well as on transatlantic flights from Leipzig/ Germany to the U.S.
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“DHL Express is delighted to welcome the 10th A330-300 P2F to its aircraft family. Since becoming the first operator to take delivery of the A330-300 P2F in 2017, the aircraft has proven to be ideally suited to short- and mid-range sectors in Asia Pacific and Europe. The aircraft delivered today is the youngest aircraft, we have converted to date and we are excited to see it serve our customers in Asia from 2023 onwards”, Malcolm Macbeth, Senior Vice President Global Network Management DHL, said.
“EFW has been a trusted converted freighter solution provider for DHL and its network partners for decades,” Jordi Boto, CEO of EFW, said. “Our 10th re-delivery of an A330-300P2F to DHL is an important milestone for our A330P2F program and longstanding partnership with DHL. We are very happy to be supporting DHL’s operational needs throughout these years, and are fully committed to helping them grow their new-generation Airbus freighter fleet further with our A330P2F program.”
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EFW’s A330P2F program is developed in collaboration with ST Engineering and Airbus, with EFW holding the Supplemental Type Certificate and leading in the overall program as well as marketing & 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 ~18.581ft3 (~526m3).
ST Engineering and EFW have conversion sites in Singapore, Germany, the U.S. and China. To meet the rising demand for freighter conversions, ST Engineering and EFW will work with third party conversion houses with facilities in Turkey and China to support the A330P2F program.