Qatar Airways looking at its own freighter conversions
Qatar Airways is meeting with Airbus to look at cargo conversions of its A330-200s as the carrier looks to redeploy its older passenger widebodies to its freight division. Qatar chief executive Akhbar Al Baker has plans to locate a conversion centre at the carrier's Doha base.
According to a report from Flightglobal, the airline, which flies three Airbus A300-600Fs, will introduce the first two of three Boeing 777Fs it has on order within the next three months. The third will arrive in 2011.
"The A300s will support the 777Fs, operating feeder services. We plan to replace the A300s with A330Fs, hopefully from 2013," Al Baker told the British publication.
Qatar Airways has 16 A330-200s and 13 -300s in service. Although the fleet is relatively young, the arrival of Boeing 787s in around two years' time will free up some of the Airbus twinjets for a new role as freighters.
"We are speaking to Airbus about a cargo conversion for the -200," Al Baker said. "We hope to have the conversion centre in Qatar, at the new Doha Airport."
Airbus is about to receive certification for its new-build A330-200F variant after a five-month flight-test effort that began last November. The 65-70t payload freighter will enter service in summer with Etihad Airways.
The airframer is working on an A330 cargo conversion programme, but the initial focus for this project will be the larger A330-300 variant as aircraft availability and pricing is more suitable in the near term, says Airbus freighter marketing manager Jonathan Lesieur.
Qatar Airways -200 conversions would be "an isolated case", he says.
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