PacAvi prototype A320 ready to convert

PacAvi Group has delivered its prototype passenger to freighter (P2F) Airbus A320 to HAITEC Aircraft Maintenance in Frankfurt for conversion.
Initial work has commenced on the prototype, which will be fully converted on an “aggressive schedule”.
PacAvi Group chief executive Stephan Hollmann said: "We view HAITEC not only as a great partner in our global network of maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO)and engineering companies, but also as a perfect location for conversion of our A320 prototype to a freighter, since we have a significant engineering and design staff in Germany.
“We expect final approval of the Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) by the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) in 2016. From then on, our plan is to grow fast.”
Hollmann said that there are 50-60 narrowbody freighters of A320 and A321 size produced annually, “and we are well positioned to dominate this market in the coming years.  We expect HAITEC to account for about a dozen commercial conversions a year".
HAITEC chief executive Frank Rott said: "The Airbus A320 passenger-to-freighter conversion programme is an ideal addition to our value-added range of services, as we continue to expand our facilities and capabilities. 
“We will be opening a new 12,000 sq m hangar with Airbus A380 capacity in 2016, in addition to our Erfurt hangar dedicated to our VIP customers that opened last fall.  It is exciting to be producing the first narrowbody Airbus freighters.
"These A320 freighters represent technologically highly advanced products, which will hit the marketplace just when demand is at a peak."
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