Airbus and Lufthansa Technik have signed a cooperation agreement to jointly develop a temporary ‘cargo in the cabin’ solution for A330s.
The new supplemental type certificate (STC) solution will enable operators to load cargo into the cabins of their A330-200 and A330-300 aircraft, the partners said.
Under the terms of the agreement, Lufthansa Technik owns the STC and will provide the modification kits for customers, while Airbus’ role as the OEM includes providing technical data, engineering validations, and operational calculations.
Implementing the solution involves first removing the aircraft’s seats and then installing industry-standard ‘PKC’ pallets and nets on the main deck. This configuration takes advantage of the A330’s operational economics and versatile cabin, the partners said.
The solution offers a volumetric cargo capacity of around 78m3 on the main deck of an A330-200 with 12 PKC pallet positions and 18 nets. The A330-300’s main deck cargo capacity will be around 86m3 with 15 PKC pallet positions and 19 nets.
“This new solution combines Airbus’ experience as an aircraft OEM with Lufthansa Technik’s expertise in managing STCs and aircraft upgrades,” said Airbus’ head of airframe services Daniel Wenninger.“In these times of reduced passenger traffic, our customers are looking for quick solutions to temporarily increase cargo transportation capacity in the cabin.”
Lufthansa Technik’s chief operations officer & accountable manager Soeren Stark commented: “We join forces with Airbus in times of crisis to deliver the best solution for aircraft operators. We mutually benefit from each other’s expertise in many respects and thus create a blueprint for possible future co-operations.”
