The Airbus A321P2F is certified by the EASA |
| Emilie Drab |
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11 MAR 2020 | 311 words
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A new type has been added to the list of full freighter aircraft. On 25th February, Elbe Flugzeugwerke announced that the Airbus A321P2F (Passenger to freighter) conversion programme received its Supplement Type Certification (STC) from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). This comes one month after the first prototype's maiden flight on 22nd January in Seletar. This aircraft, which was converted in Singapore, is intended to be delivered to Vallair.
The STC will be held by EFW. The German company will therefore be responsible for providing support to customers and engineering during the series production phase, a task which it is taking over from its parent company, ST Engineering, which had been in charge of engineering until the STC was obtained. It is also managing the distribution of conversion contracts between the Singapore, China, United States and Germany factories.
Launched in 2015, the advantage of the A321P2F programme is that it provides a narrow-body platform which is able to carry containers both on the main deck (up to 14 positions) and on the lower deck (up to ten positions). It should be able to transport up to 27.9 tonnes of freight across over 2 300 nm. According to EFW's CEO, Andreas Sperl, this makes it "the ideal replacement for the oldest converted Boeing 757s".
In addition to the first A321P2F flight, the programme has taken a few steps forward in marketing terms. A letter of intent has been signed by Keystone Holdings - a joint enterprise between ST Engineering and Qantas - for the conversion of one plane. This should be carried out in the Singapore facilities, with delivery at the end of 2021. Before this, another contract was signed with BBAM to covert two A321s. Work began on the first one in January, with the second in March.
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Emilie Drab
Assistant editor
Civil aerospace, Air transport
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