Qantas Boeing Freighters are approaching retirement age. As a replacement, the Australian airline chooses Airbus A321 conversion freighters.
Qantas chose theirs future ultra-long-haul flights for the Airbus A350. Also with the successor for their Boeing 717 and Boeing 737-800 for short and medium-haul routes the Australian airline chose Airbus aircraft.
Now Qantas is choosing Airbus aircraft once more. The Qantas Freight subsidiary will not replace four Boeing 737-300Fs and one 737-400F with newer 737 freighters. Instead, it is buying six used Airbus A321 passenger jets and having them converted into cargo aircraft, as it announced on Monday (August 15).
Elbe Flugzeugwerke is already converting three A321s
Qantas currently already operates three A321 conversion freighters converted by Elbe Flugzeugwerke became. The joint venture between Airbus and ST Engineering from Singapore will also convert two A330-200s into cargo planes for the airline.
Qantas has not yet named a converter for the new order. However, it mentions the name A321 P2F (Passenger to Freighter) as the model designation, which Elbe Flugzeugwerke uses. The company should therefore have a good chance of getting the order. When asked by aeroTELEGRAPH, the conversion company did not want to comment yet.
All Boeing 737-300F more than 35 years old
The Australian airline expects the A321 conversion freighters between early 2024 and mid-2026. The A321 P2F will help “meet customers’ growing demand for e-commerce,” writes Qantas.
The Boeing 737 freighters that are being replaced are real oldies. A 737-300 F retired in August following 36 years of service. The other three 737-300 F are also more than 35 years old, the 737-400 F is more than 32 years old.
