Airbus SB to detail seat-to-pallet reconfiguration

[caption id="attachment_413795" align="alignright" width="372"] A passenger cabin without seats. Source/Airbus[/caption] Airbus plans to issue a service bulletin (SB) that outlines the procedure for reconfiguring passenger A330s and A350s to carry cargo on pallets that attach to the seat rails lining the passenger cabins. In parallel, the aerospace giant is working with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to obtain a supplemental type certificate (STC) for the work package. With a growing number of airlines now using passenger aircraft for cargo-only operations, the Airbus STC standardizes the process so that each carrier modifying an A330 or A350 does not have to navigate separate regulatory hurdles. No longer an anomaly, passenger freighters are likely to remain an essential component of the air cargo supply chain for the foreseeable future. At least twenty airlines have shown interest in reconfiguring A330 and A350 with the Airbus SB, an Airbus spokesperson told Cargo Facts. Using the bulletin, operators would complete the work at their own MROs, or at a third-party maintenance facility. The unprecedented scale of passenger flight reductions in recent weeks in light of the COVID-19 pandemic has pushed nearly 100 carriers to operate passenger aircraft sans passengers in a move aimed at backfilling some of the lost capacity. While lower holds naturally accommodate cargo, seat removal further increases the usable space on aircraft not designed to carry freight. With fewer seats in the passenger cabin, usable volumetric capacity on the main deck is expanded to 76 cubic meters for an A330-300, and 81 cubic meters for an A350, with twenty-eight pallet positions available for an A330-300 or A330-900, and thirty for an A350-900, Airbus told Cargo Facts . Pallets fixed to seat rails can accommodate payloads of 7.3 tonnes for an A330-300, and 7.8 tonnes for an A350, according to Airbus. Unlike freighter aircraft that have large cargo doors and loading systems, pallets being loaded onto the cargo-configured passenger aircraft must be brought through the passenger doors, and clicked into position on the seat rails. In practice, across all passenger aircraft carrying cargo on the main deck, this has required an assembly line of workers shuffling cargo back and forth throughout the fuselage. Some carriers, including Air Canada, have started engineering makeshift loading systems to load passenger cabins more efficiently. The Airbus bulletin includes instructions for seat removal, pallet-installation steps for reverting the cargo deck back to passenger configuration and additional safety features, such as fire protection and 9g restraints.

Airbus SB to detail seat-to-pallet reconfiguration

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Airbus SB to detail seat-to-pallet reconfiguration

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Cargolux ushers in 50th business year with 2019 net profit

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