Aerotransportes Mas de Carga Takes Delivery of First Airbus A330-200P2F

(22 Feb 2022)  Aerotransportes Mas de Carga (mas) has taken delivery of an Airbus A330-200P2F on lease from Altavair, making the airline the first in North and South America to fly the aircraft type.

The A330-200P2F (passenger-to-freighter) can carry up to 61 metric tons and has a range of up to 4,200 nautical miles, which will greatly enhance the cargo carrier’s expansion plans into new markets, including China, where it obtained certification to fly last year.

The conversion was done by Elbe Flugzeugwerke (EFW) — a joint venture between Airbus and ST Engineering.

To meet the rising demand for freighter conversions, ST Engineering and EFW will set up new conversion sites in China and the U.S. this year and ramp up total conversion capacity for all their Airbus P2F programmes to about 60 slots per year by 2024.

Aerotransportes Mas de Carga (mas) is the first airline in North and South America to operate the Airbus A330-200P2F.

“We look forward to having mas join the Airbus family of operators in Mexico and experience the benefits of operating this freighter,” said Arturo Barreira, President of Airbus Latin America and the Caribbean. “The A330-200P2F will provide mas with a highly-efficient operation thanks to its greater payload and range capability. Its optimized fuselage cross-section offers flexibility to carry a wide variety of pallet and container sizes. Airbus is confident that the A330-200P2F will successfully support mas’ expansion plans.”

Mexico City-based mas has been operating cargo aircraft since 1992. In December 2018, mas launched an ambitious expansion plan under new ownership and management, with Discovery Americas, a private equity fund in Mexico. mas’ scheduled and charter network spans the Americas and now has the capacity to expand internationally with additional cargo aircraft.

“mas will take advantage of the increased payload and range of the A330 to expand our global presence, increasing flights to Europe and South America and starting to fly into China. The A330P2F’s reliability and reduced environmental impact makes it the ideal aircraft for mas to succeed in the global cargo market,” said Luis Sierra, CEO of mas.

More than 1,800 A330s have been ordered, with over 1,500 delivered to date since the A330’s service entry in 1994 – providing a large source of aircraft to support the conversion programme for many years.