Aging A330s Operators To See New Freighter Conversion Option

FARNBOROUGH—A new solution for airlines seeking to convert their aging first-generation Airbus A330s to freighters faster and less expensively is being offered by a Turkish-UK company.

While passenger-to-freighter (P2F) conversions normally involve cutting a large main deck cargo door, Alfor Aviation’s solution involves using the aircraft’s existing lower deck cargo doors, with two internal lifts installed to move LD3 containers to the upper deck.

The A330ILS (Internal lift System) will typically be able to carry 38 LD3s on the main deck and a further 28 on the lower deck; the lifts will have a 2-tonne lifting capacity. The lifts will have a chain drive mechanism, powered by an external ground power unit.

A proof-of-concept aircraft is being converted by Mesa Maintenance & Engineering in Beja, Portugal, but Alfor plans to establish a purpose-built conversion facility at Teesside Airport in northeast England.

Alfor, a UK-registered company, is owned 51% by Turkish industrial enterprise Alarko Holding and 49% by UK aviation specialists Foravia.

“There is a rise in widebody aircraft going to scrap,” Alfor marketing consultant Melin Tan told ATW. “There are huge opportunities to give them a second chance as a cargo plane.” Alfor intends to offer its ILS solution for the A330-200 and -300 models and is targeting airframes more than 15 years old.

Alfor displayed a model of the ILS at the airshow.

The ILS system has been under development for two years, Tan said. Once certificated, conversions will take three months, compared to a conventional main deck cargo door conversion period of at least six months and will cost around $12 million, or typically half the price of a conventional P2F process.

The initial aircraft is targeted for completion, with all the necessary certifications, by the first week of December, Tan said.

Alfor says that around 850 A330s in the targeted age bracket will be available by 2032.