Air China Cargo has begun operating its first converted Airbus freighter, as announced by Elbe Flugzeugwerke (EFW). The German conversion firm shared the milestone in a LinkedIn post, highlighting the inaugural flight of the Airbus A330 passenger-to-freighter (P2F) aircraft.
The maiden voyage took off on June 3 from Chengdu, China, heading towards Europe with stops in Paris before returning. “The first flight of the A330P2F took off yesterday from Chengdu, China heading towards Europe, Paris and back. The aircraft will be operated on this route on its new mission for air cargo during the coming weeks,” stated EFW, a subsidiary of ST Engineering and Airbus.
This development follows a deal made last year between EFW and Air China Cargo, in which EFW agreed to convert and deliver eight A330P2Fs from Air China’s existing fleet. The first of these converted aircraft was handed over to Air China Cargo at the end of last year by EFW’s conversion partner, Ameco Beijing.
Air China Cargo’s current fleet includes nine Boeing 777 freighters and three Boeing 747-400 freighters. Additionally, it manages the belly cargo of all Air China’s passenger aircraft.
In May of the previous year, EFW received validation for its Supplement Type Certification (V-STC) by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) for its Airbus A330P2F conversion program. This certification has enabled EFW to support multiple airlines with their cargo conversion needs.
Several other companies have also received A330P2F aircraft from EFW over the past year. Last month, DHL received its 14th Airbus A330-300 P2F. Qantas welcomed its second A330-200P2F in December 2023, and in October, Amazon Air initiated its first in-service flight with one of ten EFW-converted A330-300P2Fs leased for operation by Hawaiian Airlines.