Astral plans to sub-lease two converted narrowbody freighters from the Vaayu Group.
COVID-19 pandemic led to the decline in specific aviation sectors like passenger traffic, MROs, Lessors, Spares, etc., while some other sectors like e-commerce passenger-to-freighter conversions market bloomed by leaps and bounds. It seems like almost every other day; there is some news of a passenger aircraft being converted for cargo operations. Many MROs across the globe have adapted to this new change in market conditions and advanced P2F capabilities. The latest news that has raised eyebrows across the industry is the introduction of the Airbus A320 in the otherwise Boeing-dominated freighter market. Astral Aviation is the Kenyan cargo carrier that flies a fleet of 14 Boeing 747, 767, and 727 freighters from hubs in Nairobi, Johannesburg, Dubai, and Liege, Belgium. They will launch the Airbus A320P2F into active commercial service by the second quarter. Astral plans to sub-lease two converted narrowbody freighters from the Vaayu Group.
Vaayu Group Chairman and President Emad Al Monayea said, “The upside of the pandemic was an increase in sales in the e-commerce space. For freighters and cargo handlers worldwide, this was unexpected. We saw this coming. We fast-tracked the process from conception to a reality in this A320P2F program.”
This news comes off the back of ST Engineering’s announcement that it had agreed on a deal with Middle Eastern company Vaayu Group to lease five A320P2Fs from its Commercial Aerospace Department. Of these, Astral will sub-lease two. Its CEO, Sanjeev Gadhia, said, “We are truly honored to be the launch operator for the A320P2F, which is also the first Airbus in Astral’s fleet. The Airbus range of freighter aircraft is impressive and will add immense value to Astral’s fleet and network expansion.”
The A320 will be Astral’s first Airbus, but they are considering adding more 320s, as well as the sister A321 converted freighter, the A330-300 widebody conversion, and the newly released factory-built A350 from Airbus.
EFW’s first A321 passenger-to-freighter conversion went on sale about 18 months ago. Changing used A320/321 aircraft to full-time freighters opens up the roomy main deck to loading heavy containers, allowing for fast, efficient loading. The Airbus family also can hold small containers in the lower deck — an advantage over its rival, the Boeing 737-800, which can only accept bulk cargo below deck.
ST Engineering is converting the world’s first Airbus A320P2F at Singapore’s Seletar Airport (XSP). The registration of the plane that it has been doing this work on is currently D-AAES.
Yip Heng Meng, EVP/head of Aviation Asset Management at ST Engineering, said, “We are excited to welcome Vaayu as our first A320P2F lessee customer, and for Astral Aviation to be the first airline in the world to operate such a platform. As an aviation asset solution provider backed by other integrated lifecycle capabilities, including freighter conversion and MRO, we can provide comprehensive solutions not offered by other service providers and help operators gain a competitive edge. The A320/A321P2F conversion programs are the first in its size category with easy-to-operate volumetric usability that offers both main deck and lower deck containerized loading.”
History of the A320 aircraft
- The A320 aircraft is a 15.92-year-old twinjet entered service with TAM in April 2006 as PR-MBB
- After just over a decade flying for the Brazilian carrier, it spent just over a year at Spire Flight Solutions as M-IBAL
- From April 2018 to October 2020, it served Indian carrier IndiGo as VT-IHM before joining ST Engineering for its conversion in February 2021.
The A320 freighter can carry ten cargo containers plus one pallet on the main deck and seven smaller containers on the lower deck. Its payload is 23 tons for distances of up to 1,800 nautical miles and 18.7 tons for flights reaching 2,500 nautical miles. By comparison, the A321 has 14 main-deck container positions, plus room for ten smaller containers below.
The planes are quickly becoming popular with domestic and regional express operators because of their functionality, modern fly-by-wire technology, and improved fuel efficiency compared to previous-generation aircraft.
