CDB Aviation, a wholly-owned Irish subsidiary of China Development Bank Financial Leasing Co., Limited (CDB Leasing),  announced that the company has reached an agreement with Mexico-based MasAir Cargo Airline (MasAir) for the lease of two Airbus A330-300 Passenger-to-Freighter (P2F) aircraft, marking the lessor’s first-ever lease transaction with an airline operator for the aircraft type.

 The A330 P2Fs on long-term lease to its newest customer in the Americas represent the first two positions from CDB Aviation’s agreement with Germany-based EFW for the aircraft type’s conversion announced in November 2020. The aircraft are scheduled to deliver to MasAir during the first half of 2022.

 “With the increasing demand for express air cargo driven by robust e-commerce activity, our A330 P2Fs will deliver the desired combination of capacity and operating economics to support MasAir’s expansion plans, equipping their fleet to effectively cater to the needs of the expanding e-commerce infrastructure,” says CDB Aviation Chief Marketing Officer Peter Goodman.

“We are very glad to have MasAir on board becoming the first A330-300 P2F operator in the Americas in 2022,” says Dr. Andreas Sperl, Chief Executive Officer of EFW. “The A330 P2F is considered as very popular especially for the express cargo market, as it is a wide-body program with great capacity offering more cargo volume and lower cost-per-ton than other available freighter aircraft types with a similar range.”

The lessor expects the A330-300 P2F to bring next-generation technology and efficiency to the segment, offering more volumetric space than older freighters in this category. This aircraft can also seamlessly slot into the fleets of A320 Family, A330, and A350 operators, in line with what cargo operators and freight forwarders are seeking.