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BBAM and EFW announce order volume for Airbus A320/A321 freighter conversions
BBAM Limited Partnership (BBAM), a world leader in aircraft leasing, and Elbe Flugzeugwerke (EFW), joint venture of ST Engineering and Airbus, announced an agreement for Airbus A320/A321 Passenger-to-Freighter (P2F) orders and options. The new orders by BBAM bring its total number of A320/A321P2F conversions to no less than 20 that will be carried out by EFW through 2025. The agreement comes with the option to add new conversion slots every year starting in 2026.
“With this latest order, BBAM is now the largest aircraft lessor for the A320/A321P2F program, and one of the top P2F customers of EFW,” said Andreas Sperl, Chief Executive Officer of EFW. “The order volume by BBAM translates into a full conversion line with a minimum of five slots per year. Most of the conversions will be carried out at the airframe facility of our parent company, ST Engineering, in the U.S. When combined with top-notch conversion standards, our A321P2F solution offers unique benefits for air freight activities, including best-in-class economics, reduced noise, lower carbon footprint, real-time health monitoring and the highest level in reliability.”
“Our commitment to the P2F program demonstrates our confidence in the ability of EFW and ST Engineering to deliver long-term value enhancement for the A320s and A321s in our fleet,” said Steve Zissis, President and Chief Executive Officer of BBAM. “We have committed to the A320/A321P2F program well into the future – beyond 2026 – because we see it as a greener and highly innovative solution for our airline customers, and an excellent way to drive value for our investors."
In January, BBAM announced the delivery of the world’s first Airbus A321P2F on lease to Titan Airways.
The Airbus A320/A321P2F is a technological breakthrough given that it is the first in its size category to offer containerized loading in both the main deck (up to 14 full container positions) and lower deck (up to 10 container positions). EFW’s A320/A321P2F solution, which comes with optimized weight distribution to enable empty flights and random loading as well as a payload-range capability of more than 28 metric tons, accords high flexibility for operators, in particular express carriers. Being the only OEM solution for Airbus A320/A321P2F in the market also ensures that EFW’s program has greater lifecycle value and superiority in quality, reliability and ease of maintenance.