“The A321 is the future of freighter conversions,” says Gregoire Lebigot, CEO – Vallair. “Not only is this freighter variant better for the environment due to its 20% reduction in fuel burn, but it offers enhanced performance across range, payload and volume with a unique capacity for fourteen container positions in the upper deck and ten more on the containerised lower cargo deck. Thanks to its fly by wire technology, the A321 is more advanced and the aircraft is still in production.”
Lebigot affirms that Vallair understood the potential of the A321P2F at the outset. “We took the decision early on to invest in the prototype conversion. Converting a passenger plane to cargo is an extremely complex undertaking which needs to be managed by highly experienced people. This applies not only to the physical conversion process, but also in terms of engineering and project management. The development and launch of the A321 freighter is testament to all the teams that have worked tirelessly on this unique project. It has taken several years of hard work to reach this milestone and Vallair is delighted to be in the position to deliver the very first conversion of this type to Qantas Freight who will operate the aircraft on behalf of Australia Post.”
Mr Lim Serh Ghee, President of ST Engineering’s Aerospace sector, said, “Through our collaboration with the OEM, Airbus, we have been able to develop a high performance product and obtain the original STC from EASA within a week from completing the flight tests, all within schedule and maintaining our high standards in safety and quality. The completion of our first A321P2F also comes at a timely manner, as the programme can help airlines breathe a second life into underutilised aircraft, which would otherwise suffer a harder landing in their residual value. With the A321P2F platform being the best-in-class for its size category – having 55% more volumetric capacity than its nearest competitor – we are confident that the programme will be a great success in the freighter market.”
