Airbus and Lufthansa Technik partner to offer temporary “Cargo in the Cabin” solutions for A330s

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

Under the agreement LHT 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. The procedure consists of first removing the seats and then installing industry standard “PKC” pallets and nets on the main deck. This configuration takes advantage of the A330’s good operational economics and versatile cabin.

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

“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,” says Soeren Stark, Chief Operations Officer & Accountable Manager at Lufthansa Technik.

This new 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. Meanwhile, the A330-300’s main deck cargo capacity will be around 86m³ with 15 PKC pallet positions and 19 nets.
Through this partnership with Lufthansa Technik, Airbus demonstrates its constant focus on supporting customers by bringing new solutions to the market.

Hamburg / Toulouse, 28 April 2021