Emirates has taken delivery of its first converted Airbus A310-300 freighter from EADS Elbeflugzeugwerke (EFW) in Dresden.
The aircraft, the first of three on order, will be operated by the Dubai-based carrier’s cargo division, Emirates SkyCargo. The A310-300F has a maximum take-off weight of 164t (361,000lb).
Ram Menen, Emirates’ senior vice-president for cargo, says the A310F will serve key regional routes from the Middle East to Mediterranean, south Asian and African points. The 39t-payload aircraft has auxiliary centre fuel tanks to increase its range, enabling one-stop operations from Dubai to the USA and countries in the South Pacific, says the company.
Emirates SkyCargo already has several Boeing 747-400Fs in its fleet and two A380Fs on order.
EFW vice-president of sales Jürgen Habermann says the division aims to increase output from the current 14 conversions a year to 20 by 2008. The facility converts A300-600s as well as A310s.
Source: Flight International
