Elbe Flugzeugwerke GmbH (EFW), center of excellence for Airbus Passenger-to-Freighter (P2F) conversions and joint venture by ST Engineering and Airbus, has just redelivered the 50thpassenger-to-freighter (P2F) converted aircraft of its new generation Airbus P2F family program. The P2F aircraft, an A330-300P2F, was redelivered from EFW’s facility in Dresden to A330P2F launch customer DHL, and is scheduled to join the DHL freighter fleet in Asia.
“Airbus freighter conversions are being increasingly considered as the preferred next-generation platforms. In fact, customers value our Airbus P2F solutions and are planning for more converted aircraft to join their fleets. We are committed to redelivering the safest products at the highest quality to meet customers’ expectations, and I look forward to our next P2F redelivery milestone very soon,” said Jeffrey Lam, President of Commercial Aerospace at ST Engineering.
“This marks a huge milestone for EFW and us shareholders, made possible by the dedication and commitment of EFW colleagues, our customers and partners”, said Andreas Hermann, Airbus SVP Commercial & International Operations and EFW Board Member. “We look forward to continuing to support EFW in delivering some of the greatest products and services across the Airbus product range.”
EFW’s P2F conversion programs were developed in collaboration with 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; and the narrowbody platforms – the A321P2F and the A320P2F which were first redelivered in 2020 and 2022 respectively.
To meet the demand for Airbus freighter conversions, EFW and ST Engineering set up in total nine conversion sites worldwide, including in the U.S., China and Europe in the past years to ramp up total conversion capacity for all the Airbus P2F programs. In 2023, EFW has re-delivered 13 Airbus conversion freighters (8 A321/A320P2F and 5 A330P2F) by May.
The Airbus conversion freighter offer several advantages like OEM supported cockpit commonality. On top, EFWs P2F conversions are equipped with advanced technology that offers airlines additional operational and economic benefits, for example more containerized volume for faster loading and unloading, higher gross payload, more range and further advantages compared to other in class freighter aircraft.
