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ST Engineering firms up orders for A321 freighter conversions
February 14th 2020
ST Engineering has firmed up a Letter of Intent from aircraft leasing management company, BBAM, for Airbus A321 passenger to freighter conversion aircraft. Read More »
The Singapore-based company said on February 10 BBAM had signed a general terms agreement in December 2019 for "several A321P2F conversions".
"The first A321P2F unit for BBAM was inducted in January 2020 for conversion at ST Engineering’s facility in Singapore, while conversion for the second unit will commence in March," the ST Engineering statement said.
Airbus has stated the A321P2F was capable of carrying up to 27.9 metric tonnes of cargo in a two-deck layout of up to 14 containers on the main deck and up to 10 containers on the lower deck. The aircraft had a range of 2,300nm.
The European aerospace giant launched the A321 and A320 passenger to freighter conversion program in 2015 in partnership with ST Aerospace and German-based Elbe Flugzeugwerke (EFW).
ST Engineering held a 55 per cent stake in EFW and Airbus 45 per cent. Under the partnership, ST Aerospace was responsible for the engineering development phase, up to the Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) approval by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Airbus provided the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) data and certification support, with EFW leading the overall program alongside marketing and sales efforts.
ST Engineering said the first flight test for the prototype unit took place on January 22 after the aircraft was converted in Singapore.
The company expected the supplemental type certificate (STC) to be issued by EASA by end of the first quarter of calendar 2020.
“After our A321P2F unit receives certification and starts operating, we expect our programme to gain greater traction, joining our pool of Airbus P2F platforms to provide the global air cargo market with cost and fuel-efficient freighter options,” ST Engineering aerospace sector president, Lim Serh Ghee, said.
