Mexico. 21 February 2022. The first A330-200P2F of the Americas was delivered to Aerotransportes Mas de Carga (mas) on lease from Altavair, making it the first airline from North and South America to fly the A330-200P2F. With this converted aircraft by Elbe Flugzeugwerke (EFW) — a joint venture between Airbus and ST Engineering, the cargo airline joins the Airbus family of operators in Latin America.
The A330-200P2F (passenger-to-freighter) is a member of the proven A330 aircraft family. The freighter can carry up to 61 metric tons and a range of up to 4,200 nautical miles, which will greatly enhance the cargo carrier’s expansion plans into new markets, including China, where it obtained certification to fly last year.
“We look forward to having mas join the Airbus family of operators in Mexico and experience the benefits of operating this freighter. The A330-200P2F will provide mas with a highly-efficient operation thanks to its greater payload and range capability. Its optimized fuselage cross-section offers flexibility to carry a wide variety of pallet and container sizes. Airbus is confident that the A330-200P2F will successfully support mas’ expansion plans,” said Arturo Barreira, President of Airbus Latin America and the Caribbean.
As a modern aircraft with advanced Airbus technology that includes fly-by-wire flight controls, the A330 offers a highly capable platform for conversion into a freighter. More than 1,800 A330s have been ordered, with over 1,500 delivered to date since the A330’s service entry in 1994 – providing a large source of aircraft to support the conversion programme for many years.
“mas will take advantage of the increased payload and range of the A330 to expand our global presence, increasing flights to Europe and South America and starting to fly into China. The A330P2F’s reliability and reduced environmental impact makes it the ideal aircraft for mas to succeed in the global cargo market,” said Luis Sierra, CEO of mas.
Mexico City-based mas has been operating cargo aircraft since 1992. In December 2018, mas launched an ambitious expansion plan under new ownership and management, with Discovery Americas, a private equity fund in Mexico. mas’ scheduled and charter network spans the Americas and now has the capacity to expand internationally with additional cargo aircraft.
Like the latest conversion programmes A321P2F and A320P2F, the A330P2F is a collaboration between Airbus, ST Engineering and EFW, which is leading the overall
programme as well as marketing and sales efforts. To meet the rising demand for freighter conversions, ST Engineering and EFW will set up new conversion sites in China and the
U.S. this year and ramp up total conversion capacity for all their Airbus P2F programmes to about 60 slots per year by 2024.
In Latin America and the Caribbean, Airbus has sold over 1,100 aircraft and has a backlog of over 500, with more than 700 in operation throughout the region, representing almost 60 percent market share of the in-service fleet. Since 1994, Airbus has secured approximately 70 percent of net orders in the region.
