Finnair reconfigures A330s into freighters

[caption id="attachment_82075" align="alignright" width="460"] Finnair has removed almost all the seats from the economy cabin of two A330-300s. (Photo: Finnair)[/caption] Finnair has removed most of the seats from the passenger cabin of two A330-300s, joining a growing list of airlines reconfiguring aircraft to carry more cargo during the COVID-19 pandemic. The first aircraft, which had been idled in Helsinki (HEL) since March 20, conducted two test flights May 11, and has made one round trip to Guangzhou (CAN). The second aircraft, which had been parked at HEL since March 18, made two test flights May 18 after being reconfigured. According to Finnair, its own technical teams were able to reconfigure the aircraft in about two days by removing around 250 economy-class seats from each A330 to nearly double the cargo capacity. Lightweight freight like medical supplies are secured by cargo nets attached to the seat rails. “Functioning logistic connections are always critical for the world economy, but their meaning is heightened during the crisis,” said Mikko Tainio, managing director of Finnair Cargo. “To ensure the availability of national emergency supplies, it’s important to be able to access goods from another continent in a matter of hours.” Tainio told Air Cargo World the A330s will most likely only be deployed on routes to China, which currently include CAN, Shanghai (PVG), Beijing (PEK) and Hong Kong (HKG). Finnair began loading cargo in the seats of its A350s in April, and had told Air Cargo World it was considering removing seats from some of its fleet. Apart from the two reconfigured A330s, the airline is also using around ten A350-900s for its cargo-only operations, which include flights to Tokyo (NRT), Osaka (KIX), Seoul (ICN), Bangkok (BKK), New York (JFK) and Tallinn (TLL). “By offering cargo connections between different continents, we can do our part to help the world to recover from the impacts of the pandemic,” Tainio said. “Thanks to the demand for cargo, we’ve been able to keep more of our planes in the sky and people employed both in the air and in our terminal operations.” Apart from Finnair, Air Canada, China Southern and Lufthansa have also reconfigured A330-300s into freighters. Finnair’s widebody fleet currently consists of eight A330-300s and fifteen A350-900s, with four more A350-900s on order.

Finnair reconfigures A330s into freighters

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