3TOP enters freighter market with three A321 freighters

English asset management company 3TOP Aviation Services has entered the freighter market with the acquisition of three A321 freighters. All three units include their CFM56 engines, according to a Nov. 3 release from 3TOP. [caption id="attachment_57299809" align="alignnone" width="2560"] SmartLynx was at one time the largest A321F operator. (Courtesy/SmartLynx)[/caption] The company declined to identify the three EFW-converted, ex-SmartLynx units. At least four CFM56-powered, ex-SmartLynx A321-200P2Fs are parked, according to Cargo Facts Consulting: The 1999-vintage unit 1017, which as of Oct. 28 was registered to JP Lease, according to the Maltese aircraft registry; The 2002-vintage unit 1713, which is owned by Cross Ocean Partners, according to the Austrian aircraft registry; and The 2000-vintage units 1185 and 1241, which were previously owned by Aero Capital Solutions. Units 1185 and 1241 have been sold to an undisclosed buyer, Daniel Watson, chief commercial officer at Aero Capital Solutions, told Cargo Facts . A CFM56-powered A321-200P2F aircraft of 1999-2002 vintage would be valued at around $17 million to $19 million, Teresa Rothschild, senior economist and director of asset management at aviation consultancy Avitas, told Cargo Facts . Meanwhile, valuation firm IBA said in an Aug. 28 report that a 1998-vintage A321-200 freighter had a half-life market value of $19.3 million. A321 freighter outlook 3TOP declined to disclose whether the A321 freighters it acquired would be sold, leased or parted out. “We see growing demand for the A321 freighter platform, and the acquisition represents a natural extension of our established narrowbody strategy into the freighter market,” Paul Dsilva, vice president of operations and technical at 3TOP, told Cargo Facts . Thirty-eight percent of the approximately eighty A321 freighters in the global fleet were not in service as of Sept. 30, according to data from Cargo Facts Consulting . Outside factors, including the shuttering of SmartLynx in 2025 and the high lease rates on CFM56 engines, have contributed to the A321-200 freighter’s so far underwhelming performance so far, according to IBA’s report. One ex-SmartLynx A321 freighter was acquired for teardown by APOC this summer. But, experts at the recent Cargo Facts Symposium 2026 in Nashville, Tenn., agreed that the sun could be rising on the A321 freighter again, at least in certain regions. A321 freighters could replace 757 freighters in Europe in the long-term, Alex Harrington, chief commercial officer at Titan Airways, said during a panel discussion at the event. Gary Warner, president of 321 Precision Conversions, said stakeholders in the Middle East and Asia are looking for A321s to convert. And 2027 could be the year that “crystallizes” what’s ahead for the A321F, Jordi Boto, chief executive of EFW, said during the panel. “I think it’s going to be a year where many of the questions about the availability of the fleet and [operator demand] will be answered,” Boto said. Cargo Facts LATAM 2027, the essential event for stakeholders in Latin America, will take place Feb. 10-12 at the Marquis Reforma in Mexico City. Learn more and register by Jan. 8 to take advantage of early-bird pricing.

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