Lessor CDB Aviation is moving to secure a leading position in the Airbus A330 passenger-to-freighter (P2F) conversion market, the company said as the Singapore Airshow opened.

CDB has expanded its A330P2F fleet to 14 aircraft based on an expanded order from EFW, a collaboration between Airbus, CDB and Singapore Technologies Engineering. The lessor said Feb. 15 that it is on track to launch the A330-200P2F in China this year, with lease commitments from Sichuan Airlines and Jiangxi Cargo Airlines.

CDB’s first two A330P2Fs are being converted at EFW’s facility in Dresden, Germany, and will be re-delivered to launch operator, Mexico-based MasAir, in early 2022.

Chengdu-based Sichuan Airlines has leased two A330-300P2Fs, which will join the carrier’s freighter fleet of three A330-200Fs on delivery in late 2022 and the middle of 2023.

Jiangxi Cargo Airlines, a new Nanchang-based startup cargo carrier created through a joint venture between the Jiangxi provincial government and privately-owned Hongyuan Group, has leased one A330-300P2F to be delivered in early 2023.

By the middle of 2022, CDB plans to have aircraft converted simultaneously at three locations: in Dresden, Shanghai, and Mobile, Alabama.