A330-200F
The right aircraft, right now
As a new-generation freighter derived from Airbus' proven A330 jetliner family, the A330-200F offers highly-efficient operation with less noise and emissions than mid-sized cargo aircraft in service today. Customers have praised the A330-200F for its outstanding flexibility, which is further enhanced by the freighter’s full operational commonality with Airbus’ fly-by-wire family of single-aisle and wide-body jetliners. In addition, its large main deck cargo door allows the aircraft to accept all commonly-used pallets and containers.
Advantages
The A330-200F features an optimised fuselage cross-section, offering flexibility to carry a wide variety of pallet and container sizes. The aircraft offers 30% more volume than any freighter in its class, and is based on the proven and technologically-advanced A330 platform, for which Airbus has over 1,000 orders and already more than 650 aircraft in service.
Since its service entry in 2010, the world’s most modern mid-size freighter – Airbus’ A330-200F – has established itself as a reliable, flexible and profitable operator on all continents. Major cargo carriers around the world have turned to the A330-200F for long-haul and regional missions as the aircraft has attained a reliability rate of more than 99.6% and in-service utilisation up to 400 flight hours per month.
Customers have praised the A330-200F for its outstanding flexibility, which is further enhanced by the freighter’s full operational commonality with Airbus’ fly-by-wire family of single-aisle and wide-body jetliners. In addition, the A330-200F’s large main deck cargo door allows the aircraft to accept all commonly-used pallets and containers, enabling the transport of a full range of cargo – from high-value consumer goods to express packages and perishables.
Ideally suited to the rapidly changing market conditions, the A330-200F is shaping the future of air cargo transport. The flexible mid-sized aircraft offers operators an adaptable cargo strategy with up to 35% lower operating costs per tonne compared to larger freighters, as well as optimised load factors.
The Airbus Global Market Forecast (GMF) forecasts a demand of more than 850 new-built freighters during the next 20 years. The A330-200F will satisfy a large percentage of this demand by offering better main- and lower-deck flexibility than the competition, with more range and more lift, as well.
A highly efficient all-cargo solution to replace services of passenger and cargo “combi” aircraft
As a new-generation freighter derived from Airbus' proven A330 jetliner family, the A330-200F offers highly efficient operation with less noise and emissions than the ageing fleets of mid-sized cargo aircraft used in worldwide service today.
The A330-200F offers better payload, range and economics than previous-generation freighters in its class; the A330-200F also provides the full benefits of operational commonality with Airbus’ fly-by-wire family of single-aisle and wide-body jetliners. It represents an ideal replacement for obsolete first-generation wide-body freighters, and also provides airlines with a highly efficient all-cargo solution to replace services of passenger and cargo “combi” aircraft.
Airline customers with firm A330-200F orders are Etihad Airways (for the Etihad Crystal Cargo division), Turkish Airlines (for the Turkish cargo division) which became the biggest A330-200F operator in 2013, MNG Airlines in Turkey, AviancaTaca (for its Tampa Cargo operation) in South America, Malaysia Airlines which purchased four freighters for the carrier’s MASkargo subsidiary, and Hong Kong Airlines (3 bought back from Aircastle in August 2013 and one operated from BOC).
The first A330-200F provided to a customer was handed over to Etihad Airways during a ceremony at the 2010 Farnborough Airshow. The second receiving Airbus’ next-generation A330-200F was Hong Kong Airlines, while Turkish Airlines became the third in September 2010. MASkargo received its initial A330-200F in September 2011.
Tampa Cargo, which is AviancaTaca Holding’s Colombia-based cargo airline, was provided the first of four A330-200Fs from Airbus in December 2012 – marking the initial handover of this freighter type to a customer based in the Americas.
Leasing and service companies acquiring A330-200Fs to date are U.S.-based Aircastle and Intrepid Aviation Group, BOC Aviation (previously known as Singapore Aircraft Leasing Enterprise) and Synergy Aerospace in Brazil.
In March 2013, the list of international carriers enhancing their aircraft fleets with Airbus’ A330-200F expanded with delivery of the first freighter for Qatar Airways – which was leased from BOC Aviation.
With the capacity and range to profitably serve growing global cargo markets, the A330-200F offers significant opportunities to grow in underserved markets at no additional cost per tonne.
The A330-200F flies 20% further and has a cost per tonne that is 13% lower than its direct competitor. It is capable of carrying 65-to-70 tonnes of payload, with a range that stretches from 3,200 nm up to 4,000 nm.
This modern cargo jetliner utilises a wide range of innovations that make it the most economical and environmentally-friendly freighter in service today. Among these cost-reducing features are the aircraft’s reinforced fuselage and doors, which increase shear and bending/running loads; its use of the latest in eco-efficient engine technologies for reduced CO2 emissions and noise levels; along with a “glass cockpit” and advanced navigation systems for enhanced flight operations.
Its 141 X 101-inch main deck door is electrically-controlled and hydraulically-operated, and is derived from the proven cargo door on A300/A310 freighters. Additional features include the latest in eco-efficient engine technologies for enhanced environmental performance, as well as its “glass cockpit” and advanced navigation systems for improved flight operations.
Overall flexibility has been enhanced with the introduction of Airbus’ versatile main deck cargo loading system, which can accommodate all industry-standard containers and pallets – enabling operators to serve the freight lift needs of varying markets.
The A330-200F can transport up to 23 side-by-side pallets on its main deck, with flexibility for additional arrangements such as single-row loading of 16 pallets, and a mix of nine AMA containers with four pallets. The spacious lower-deck cargo hold accepts up to 26 LD3 containers, plus 19.7 cubic metres of bulk cargo.
The A330-200F is based on Airbus' popular A330-200 passenger jetliner, and is produced on the same Toulouse, France final assembly line as other A330 and A340 Family aircraft. This ensures a sustained output, providing production line slots to meet market demand.
A330-200F media gallery
DHL Express has become the first operator to take delivery of the A330-300 Passenger-to-Freighter (P2F) converted aircraft from Elbe Flugzeugwerke (EFW), the joint venture between ST Aerospace and Airbus. This delivery, which took place at EFW’s freighter conversion facilities in Dresden, follows the successful completion of test flights in October and awarding of the Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) in November. DHL Express has firm orders for eight A330-300P2F units in total, with additional options to receive another 10.
DHL Express has become the first operator to take delivery of the A330-300 Passenger-to-Freighter (P2F) converted aircraft from Elbe Flugzeugwerke (EFW), the joint venture between ST Aerospace and Airbus. This delivery, which took place at EFW’s freighter conversion facilities in Dresden, follows the successful completion of test flights in October and awarding of the Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) in November. DHL Express has firm orders for eight A330-300P2F units in total, with additional options to receive another 10.
The 800th A330 has been delivered today at a ceremony in Toulouse. The aircraft is an A330-200 Freighter, received by Aircastle Advisor Ltd for operation by Hong Kong Airlines, part of the HNA Group. This is the third A330-200F for the Hong Kong Airlines fleet. To date, over 1,140 A330s have been ordered. (13 July 2011)