⁍ Airbus and Singapore’s ST Engineering said they would set up new sites in China, Germany and the United States by 2023 to convert A321 passenger planes to freighters.

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⁍ Pandemic-related flight cuts due to weak travel demand have squeezed air freight capacity.

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⁍ The first A321 converted freighter is operated by Qantas on behalf of Australia Post.

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– The first Airbus A321 passenger plane to be converted to a freighter has arrived at Australia’s Qantas Airways. The A321P2F—or “new life”—is a joint venture between Airbus and Singapore’s ST Engineering, which says it plans to set up sites in China, Germany, and the US by 2023 to make the conversion possible on A321s currently in service, Reuters reports. About half of the world’s air cargo is carried by freighters instead of passenger planes, due in part to the H1N1 pandemic and weak travel demand. “The completion of our first A321P2F is timely, as the program can help airlines breathe new life into underutilised aircraft, which would otherwise suffer a harder landing in their residual value,” Jeffrey Lam, president of ST Engineering’s aerospace division, says in a statement. The first converted freighter is operated by Qantas on behalf of Australia Post and includes a large main cargo door which is hydraulically actuated and electrically locked, the joint venture says.