Airbus Partners With Lufthansa Technik to offer Temporary A330 “Cargo in the Cabin” Solutions

Airbus and Lufthansa Technik have signed a cooperation agreement to co-develop a temporary “Cargo in the Cabin” solutions for Airbus A330s. The new Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) will allow operators to load cargo into A330-200/300 cabins.

On Wednesday (April 28, 2021), Airbus announced the signing of a new cooperation agreement with Lufthansa Technik (LHT) to co-develop a temporary “Cargo in the Cabin” solution for Airbus A330-200 and A330-300s. The new Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) will allow operators to load cargo into the cabins of their A330s. Under the agreement, Lufthansa Technik will own the STC and provide modification kits to customers, while Airbus will maintain their role as OEM by providing technical data, engineering validations and operational calculations.

In Wednesday’s announcement, Airbus’ Head of Airframe Services, Daniel Wenninger, said,

“This new solution combines Airbus’ experience as an aircraft OEM with Lufthansa Technik’s expertise in managing STCs and aircraft upgrades. In these times of reduced passenger traffic, our customers are looking for quick solutions to temporarily increase cargo transportation capacity in the cabin.”

Also commenting on the new collaboration, Lufthansa Technik’s Chief Operations Officer & Accountable Manager, Soeren Stark, added,

 “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.”

The A330 “Cargo in the Cabin” procedure requires the removal of seats and the installation of industry-standard ‘PKC’ pallets and nets on the main deck. The configuration takes advantage of the A330’s versatile cabin and good operational economics. The new solution will provide a cargo capacity volume of approximately 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 positions and 19 nets. The new partnership with Lufthansa Technik reaffirms Airbus’ constant focus on supporting customers by bringing new solutions to the market.

Source: Airbus