CDB Aviation, a wholly-owned Irish subsidiary of China Development Bank Financial Leasing, entered a new partnership with Germany-based EFW GmbH to conduct the passenger-to-freighter (P2F) conversion of two Airbus A330-300 aircraft in 2021, which will be available for lease to airline customers beginning in early 2022.

The A330-300 P2F conversion program marks CDB Aviation’s first entry into freighter conversion. The A330 P2Fs are part of the existing fleet of 228 aircraft, in addition to the lessor’s further commitments for 150 in-demand, next-generation technology aircraft.

“We are seeing an increasing interest from our customers for medium-sized freighters as they look to take advantage of record-high freighter utilization, rapidly growing e-commerce demand and higher cargo yields,” Patrick Hannigan, CEO of CDB Aviation, said. “We look forward to working with EFW on converting our highly efficient A330-300 aircraft into the next generation of medium widebody freighters that our customers can use to meet the burgeoning international and regional air freight demand.”

The medium widebody freighter segment consists of more than 600 aircraft, served primarily by aging twin-jet aircraft such as the Boeing 767F and Airbus A300F, which have an average age of 22 years. The A330-300 P2F will bring next-generation technology and efficiency to this segment. With growing express cargo demand and declining cargo densities, the A330-300 P2F offers more volumetric space than older freighters in this category.

“With 12,000 Airbus cockpit aircraft in service, the A330-300 P2F will seamlessly slot into the fleets of A320 family, A330 and A350 operators, and will bring a new paradigm of efficiency with 23% more cargo volume,” Hannigan said.

“We are very excited to have CDB Aviation on board for investing in A330P2F Airbus converted freighters,” Andreas Sperl, CEO of EFW, said. “We look forward to a prosperous long-term relationship and to support the fleet growth in this promising market segment.”

“As a major lessor of passenger A330s, it is a natural evolution of our portfolio to be able to offer our customers the A330-300 P2F,” Hannigan said. “Our belief is that the A330-300 P2F is the exact type of medium widebody aircraft that airlines and cargo operators require to meet cargo demand near-term and into the future.”

EFW is a joint venture between ST Engineering and Airbus.