EFW to discontinue US conversion sites

EFW will no longer use its two conversion sites in the United States for its Airbus freighter programs. EFW will finalize its ongoing conversions for customers this year but does not plan to induct any further aircraft at VT San Antonio Aerospace in San Antonio, Texas (SAT), or VT Mobile Aerospace Engineering in Mobile, Ala. (BFM), for now, the conversion house told Cargo Facts . [caption id="attachment_56869509" align="aligncenter" width="1643"] The Mobile facility completed its first A330P2F conversion in 2023. (Courtesy/EFW)[/caption] However, depending on customer needs and demand for local sites, EFW will reconsider continuing conversions in the U.S. with MRO partners, it said. The BFM facility began working on its first A330P2F conversion in 2022 after EFW said in 2021 that it would set up a line in the U.S. for the medium widebody. The 2008-vintage A330-300 (908, ex-SmartLynx), belonging to CDB Aviation, stayed at BFM for more than a year until it departed at the end of September 2023 . Four other A330s have entered conversion at BFM: A 2018-vintage -300P2F (1863) that Altavair leased to Amazon in March for CMI operation with Hawaiian Airlines; A 2016-vintage -300P2F (1712, ex-Cebu Pacific) that Airbus leased to Mas in May; Another 2018-vintage Altavair -300P2F (1865) that left BFM yesterday for post-conversion work in San Bernardino, Calif. (SBD), ahead of joining Amazon; and A 2012-vintage -200 (1342) that will return to Avianca as a freighter . Meanwhile, the SAT facility received its first A321-200P2F conversion candidate in October 2021. That 2006-vintage aircraft (2903, ex-SmartLynx) was destined to rejoin SmartLynx after conversion as part of a four-aircraft deal with the Russia-affiliated lessor GTLK Europe, but its status is unclear because of the Russian sanctions. SAT has worked on at least five other A321-200P2F conversions: One belonging to Juniper Aviation Investments (1199, ex-Ural Airlines) that is on lease to Global Crossing Airlines ; Two belonging to BBAM (1607, ex-Galistair Malta, and 5133, ex-Eurowings) that are on lease to Teleport and Lufthansa , respectively; Another belonging to BBAM (1670, ex-Air Busan) that has been in Dothan, Ala. (DHN), since late August for post-conversion work; and Another BBAM unit (2190, ex-British Airways) that arrived at SAT in January 2023. Lessors and operators have been unhappy with the delays that have plagued the conversion business, especially at facilities in the U.S., while conversion companies have talked about labor and supply chain challenges . One factor is that since the pandemic, many MRO companies have returned to and prioritized more lucrative maintenance work that is less time-consuming than freighter conversions, according to industry sources. Apart from BFM and its own facilities in Dresden (DRS), EFW has A330P2F conversions ongoing in Shanghai (SHA) , Chengdu (CTU) , Istanbul (ISL) and Guangzhou (CAN) , with the latter two being the newest sites that will soon complete their first units. Excluding SAT, EFW uses facilities in Singapore (XSP), Tianjin (TSN) and CAN for its A321P2F and A320P2F conversions. EFW aims to redeliver as many as twenty-five A330P2Fs and twenty-two A320/A321P2Fs in 2024, the company said in April. The 30th Cargo Facts Symposium will take place Oct. 14-16 at the Omni Hotel in San Diego. Gain valuable insights, success strategies and networking opportunities at this special anniversary event. Learn more and register today to take advantage of our early-bird sale.

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