CDB Aviation tops up A330-300P2Fs, secures two new Chinese lessees

CDB Aviation will grow its freighter portfolio with twelve more A330-300P2F conversions as part of a new deal with Elbe Flugzeugwerke (EFW) [ FATs 007220-7231 ]. The company has also secured Sichuan Airlines and Jiangxi Cargo Airlines as new customers for its freighters. Cronan Enright, head of strategy, told Cargo Facts that, after CDB made its entry into the freighter leasing market in late 2020 when it announced it had committed to two A330-300P2F conversion slots with EFW , its confidence in the A330P2F segment grew in 2021 after spending time understanding the sector, noting the reliance on air cargo during the pandemic, and seeing heightened customer demand as EFW’s program gained momentum. CDB Aviation was able to move quickly to greenlight its investment with the support of its shareholder China Development Bank Financial Leasing Co. Ltd. [caption id="attachment_417527" align="alignright" width="560"] CDB expects to complete its conversions by 2026. (Photo/SmartLynx)[/caption] Enright confirmed that inductions and redeliveries for this new order will begin in 2022, with the goal of converting two to three aircraft per year through 2026. CDB will also be EFW’s first customer to have A330s converted at both the Shanghai Technologies Aerospace Company Limited (STARCO) and VT Mobile Aerospace Engineering facilities , starting in the second quarter. CDB’s first two A330-300P2Fs, a pair of 2008-vintage ex-China Southern units with Rolls-Royce Trent 700 engines (958 and 964), are both currently in Dresden (DRS) and will join Mexico-based MasAir on lease later this year. CDB expects to deliver them to MasAir in Q2, Enright confirmed. Apart from the Shanghai and Mobile locations, CDB will continue to use the DRS facility for its conversions, partly because of demand from the different regions but also because of the intent to grow its footprint as fast as possible, Enright said. CDB Aviation's global technical team will oversee conversions in all three locations. Sichuan Airlines, which already has thirteen passenger A330-200s and -300s, is set to become the first operator of the A330-300P2F in China, with the first joining in late 2022 on lease from CDB and the second in mid-2023 [ FATs 007232-7233 ]. The airline, which began freighter operations with three ex-Qatar production A330-200Fs in late 2019, told Cargo Facts in early 2021 that it was looking to expand with both widebodies and narrowbodies . Meanwhile, Jiangxi Cargo Airlines, a new carrier that is a joint venture between the Jiangxi provincial government and Hongyuan Group, will lease one A330-300P2F from CDB in early 2023 [ FAT 007234 ]. Enright confirmed that the first five units that CDB has earmarked to fulfill the newly ordered conversion slots are the aircraft that it began leasing to SmartLynx in 2021 without seats for cargo operations under a flexible, short-term profit-share arangement. Three of those units (908, 954 and 937) are of 2008 vintage and all began their lives in passenger service with China Southern Airlines before being leased to Onur Air. The other two units (791 and 1382) are of 2006 and 2013 vintage, respectively. The former started life with China Eastern Airlines before joining Thai AirAsiaX, while the latter had previously been in service with Evelop Airlines and Singapore Airlines. CDB’s A330 portfolio currently consists of twenty-five -300s and seven -200s. CDB will prioritize Trent-powered aircraft for conversion but Enright added that the lessor may select CF6-powered aircraft in the future. Given the large A330 portfolio and the age profile of those aircraft, CDB is focused on A330P2Fs and not actively looking at other freighter types for now but continues to monitor A321 and 737-800 conversions, he said. The A330 family itself became increasingly sought after during the surge in demand of the last couple of years. While EFW is increasing its conversion capacity to twenty-five per year by 2023, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) also announced its own A330-300BDSF conversion program with launch customer Avolon in October 2021. The A330P2F program has now secured orders for more than eighty conversions, according to EFW CEO Andreas Sperl in a release. Apart from DHL Express and Stratos, other customers for the A330-300P2F include Cargo Aircraft Management (CAM), which committed to twenty A330P2F slots with EFW in 2021, and MNG Airlines, which recently inducted its second and has plans for more . Cargo Facts EMEA will take place LIVE May 9-11 in Dubai. Learn more and register.

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