Aircraft leasing company, BBAM, has signed an agreement with Elbe Flugzeugwerke (EFW), a joint venture of ST Engineering and Airbus, for new Airbus A320/A321 Passenger-to-Freighter (P2F) orders, including options. While the figures of the order have not been disclosed, BBAM has stated that the new orders bring the total number of its A320/A321P2F fleet to 20, with the conversions to be carried out by EFW through 2025. The agreement comes with the option to add new conversion slots every year, starting in 2026.
“With this latest order, BBAM is now the largest aircraft lessor for the A320/A321P2F programme, and one of the top P2F customers of EFW,” said Andreas Sperl, CEO of EFW. “The order volume by BBAM translates into a full conversion line with a minimum of five slots per year, with many of the conversions to be carried out at the airframe facility of our parent company, ST Engineering, in the USA.”
EFW’s A321P2F process is claimed to bring benefits for air freight activities, in terms of economics, reduced noise, lower carbon footprint, real-time health monitoring and reliability. The A320/A321P2F is the first aircraft in its size category to offer containerised loading in both the main deck (up to 14 full container positions) and lower deck (up to 10 container positions). The EFW design comes with optimised weight distribution to enable random loading, even on empty flights, as well as a payload-range capability of more than 28 metric tons, enabling flexibility for operators, especially express carriers.
“We have committed to the A320/A321P2F programme well into the future – beyond 2026 – because we see it as a greener and highly innovative solution for our airline customers, and an excellent way to drive value for our investors,” stated Steve Zissis, president and CEO of BBAM.