CFS: Engine market share for converted freighters reflects values

LAS VEGAS — For newer freighter conversion programs like the A330, for which multiple engine options exist for the passenger variant, engine market share on converted units will change over time to reflect engine values, according to panelists on a session at Cargo Facts Symposium 2021, titled “Powering into the future: winning engine management strategies.” The majority of the twelve A330-300s and -200s converted to date by Elbe Flugzeugwerke (EFW) — currently the only STC holder for the type — have been equipped with Rolls-Royce engines. “I think Trent-powered A330s are really in the sweet spot at the moment, and that’s why they’ve been selected for conversion,” said Les Cronin, senior director of marketing and sales at MTU Aero Engines North America. [caption id="attachment_416890" align="alignright" width="560"] Jeff Lee, deputy editor of Cargo Facts; Scott Brensike, general manager of life cycle solutions at GE Aviation; Les Cronin, senior director of sales and marketing at MTU; Larry Gray, senior marketing manager of economics, environment and cargo at Pratt & Whitney; and Zygimantas Surintas, CEO of SmartLynx.[/caption] As other engine types are released, the spread has room to change. General Electric CF6 engines and Pratt & Whitney PW4000s power about 20% and 30% of passenger A330s, respectively, while Rolls-Royce Trent engines power about 50% of the A330 fleet, according to Cronin. “As the valuations come down for the GEs and the Pratts, you’ll see them come into conversion,” Cronin said. About 180 A330-300s and -200s are PW4000 powered, said Larry Gray, senior marketing manager of economics, environment and cargo at Pratt & Whitney. Despite the large fleet number, “they’re basically concentrated with about six major passenger operators,” Gray said. Two of those operators include Asiana and Korean Air, which are in the process of merging and which could free up feedstock, depending on the combined operator’s fleet decisions. “Our feedstock are not really coming to the aforementioned sweet spot,” said Scott Brensike, general manager of life cycle solutions of GE Aviation. Although there aren’t currently any GE-powered A330P2Fs operating, Brensike expects an opening to emerge with time. “We’ve been active through GE Aviation Materials in acquiring some of the engines use that have come off with the vision of using those assets to provide solutions to help uptake of the A330 when the time is right,” he said. When it comes to narrowbody conversions, the A321-200 is another program with multiple engine options available, and panelists said they expect both IAE V2500s and CFM56-5Bs to be viable options for conversion. Recent discussion of Stage 4 noise compliance issues caused a few surprises when early adopters of the aircraft discovered that some CFM56 engines were not in compliance and required a costly modification. The V2500s, on the other hand, all comply with the Stage 4 standard. SmartLynx Airlines, which is now flying two A321-200Fs with Stage 4 compliant CFM56s in Europe for DHL, is unlikely to continue adopting the expensive modification to a couple of its older aircraft heading into conversion because it is cost prohibitive, according to CEO Zygimantas Surintas. “It would not make any sense to run that project, it costs half of the plane price,” he said. “So we are not doing that.” In the near term, SmartLynx will operate those aircraft in a low-thrust mode to conform with the noise standard but is expecting a cheaper modification in the near future. “We have been told that this is coming,” he said. Stage 4 compliance became standard for later-model CFM engines and was only an issue for some earlier engine vintages, such as those brought into the SmartLynx fleet. “The mods that are required on a small number of A321 feedstock went into production back between 2003 to 2004,” Brensike said. An estimated sixty to seventy aircraft were built without the mod, and many of those were later retrofitted with the kit. “There are perceptions in the industry that this affects a larger number of airplanes than it really does,” said Brensike, who estimated 95% of the A321-200 fleet is Stage 4 compliant. “There’s a relatively small number of airplanes that have the problem, and we are aware of it and are interested in solving it.”

CFS: Engine market share for converted freighters reflects values

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