AKKA Technologies partners with Avianor to offer an EASA approved temporary conversion solution for wide-body aircraft
Romain Guillot
 le 22/05/2020 , Maintenance aéronautique
AKKA Technologies and Avianor have signed a framework agreement aimed at offering a temporary Passenger-to-Freighter conversion solution for airlines that require EASA (European Aviation Safety Agency) certification.
Canadian maintenance and cabin integration specialist Avianor, located in Mirabel, developed an engineering solution and associated kits to remove passenger seats from an airline's aircraft and designate cargo loading zones for light weight boxes restrained with cargo nets.
This solution is certified by the Canadian civil aviation authority (TCCA) and is already implemented on several wide-body aircraft. French company AKKA Technologies can provide comprehensive EASA certification services by delegation and will have the 'rights to use' Avianor's solution to be able to offer it to airlines in order to respond to the urgent cargo conversion demand worldwide.
"The COVID-19 pandemic has deeply hurt airlines and forced them to reinvent themselves. As a leader in the aviation industry, Avianor reacted quickly to the needs of its customers in this time of crisis. In just shy of a week's time, our specialists reconfigured a first Boeing's 777-300ER followed quickly by six other 777 and A330" said Matthieu Duhaime, President & COO of Avianor who also specifies that the company is also working on A340 aircraft cabins.
Avianor will continue to support airlines requiring TCCA certification and supply conversion kits for both EASA and TCCA customers.
Demand for auxiliary freighters that appeared during the health crisis continues to strengthen given the deficit in air freight capacity. As evidenced by Charles Champion, member of AKKA's board of directors, "About half of the world's air freight is carried in the cargo holds of passenger aircraft. And since COVID-19 has grounded most of the passenger fleets around the globe, cargo capacity worldwide has dropped and the price per kilo skyrocketed. In order to compensate for reduced passenger traffic and keep their fleets operational, airlines are reconfiguring their passenger aircraft to so called 'preighters' (passenger-to-freighter) to generate revenue".
The modification process of takes only four days for a 777 or an A330, but significantly increases the aircraft's cargo capacity by up to 19 tonnes.
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