CDB Aviation is to provide two Airbus A330-300 P2F aircraft on long-term lease with Mexico-based MasAir Cargo Airline, for delivery in the first half of 2022. It is the lessor’s first-ever lease transaction with an airline operator for the aircraft type and the first two aircraft to be delivered through its agreement with the German-based conversion company EFW, which was announced last November.

With the leasing of two new A330 P2Fs Mexico-based MasAir Cargo has its eyese now firmly set on expand into new markets, including China.

‘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,’ said CDB Aviation Chief Marketing Officer Peter Goodman.

MasAir CEO Luis Sierra said the A330-300 P2Fs will increase the carrier’s capacity and efficiency, ‘marking the continued process of MasAir on becoming a global player in the air cargo arena’. The carrier is also investing more than $5 million in hiring and training crew and technical personnel to operate the aircraft. MasAir says that with a payload of up to 61 tonnes and a range of up to 4,200 nautical miles, the new aircraft will enable it to expand into new markets, including China, where it obtained certification to fly last year.

The Mexico City-based cargo airline has been operating freighter aircraft since 1992 and has been a B767-300Fs operator since 2001. Last year it began operations for DHL Express utilising one of its Boeing 767 freighters. In December 2018 MasAir came under a new ownership structure and management, with Mexican private equity fund Discovery Americas becoming the majority shareholder.

CDB Aviation CEO Patrick Hannigan said the agreement with EFW reflected a strategic decision by the leasing platform to engage in the cargo sector. ‘The medium widebody freighter segment, served nowadays by aging twin-jet aircraft, is poised for growth with the need for a new generation of medium widebody freighters,’ he said. ‘Our decision to enter the A330 P2F conversion market was motivated by the potential of this asset.’

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. It anticipates that the aircraft will also slot seamlessly into the fleets of A320 Family, A330, and A350 operators.

‘As a major lessor of passenger A330s, we are at the forefront of the industry leveraging the capabilities of this highly efficient aircraft to offer our customers the next generation of medium widebody freighters, which will enable them to meet cargo demand near-term and into the future,’ Hannigan said. The expansion of CDB Aviation’s executive team last year, including the recruitment of Craig Segor as Chief Investment Officer and the appointment of Cronan Enright as Head of Strategy, is thought to have contributed directly to the decision by the lessor to expand into the field of P2F conversions.

CDB Aviation has also recently delivered the first of four Airbus A320neo family aircraft on long-term lease to Russian flag carrier Aeroflot, which took delivery of the first aircraft at the Airbus delivery centre in Toulouse, France. The carrier will receive the remaining three deliveries, which comprise two more A320neos and one A321neo, later this month.