West Atlantic’s Airbus A320 conversion

A new arrival at the Dresden base of EADS division EFW is the first Airbus A320 for conversion to dedicated freighter operations. 

Destined for delivery late next year to the Anglo Swedish cargo operator West Atlantic, the CFM 56 engined aircraft was originally built for Air France in 1991 and has accumulated 35,000hrs.  West Atlantic is the largest regional freight carrier in Europe with a fleet of over 50 aircraft.

Behind the deal is Dutch leasing company AerCap who have a contract with West Atlantic for an initial three aircraft, with options on a further four.  In 2008 it contracted with Airbus on a programme to purchase and convert A320 and A321 aircraft into freighters with a capacity of 21 and 28 metric tonnes respectively (depending on variant), a 121-inch (3.1m) aft cargo door plus ETOPS long range capability.  The modifications include the use of the belly hold (underfloor) for containers. www.westatlantic.eu www.aercap.com

Index/Home page
 

OUR READERS' FINEST WORDS (All times and dates are GMT)

All comments are filtered to exclude any excesses but the Editor does not have to agree with what is being said. 100 words maximum