Air Transport Services Group has already found airline placements for its two first A321-200(P2F)s and hopes to complete all type certification requirements in mid-2020, Chief Executive Joe Hete said during a quarterly earnings call.
"We are still targeting having the supplemental type certificate approved, call it midyear of this year. The prototype aircraft already has an end-user customer as well as the second aircraft, which will be inducted shortly for its modification process," he said.
He underlined that the converted A321 will have cargo capacity comparable to the B757-200(PF) but at a much lower operating cost, making it a perfect replacement for the Boeing freighters.
ATSG's subsidiary ATI - Air Transport International (8C, Wilmington, OH) operates eight B757(F)s on behalf of DHL Express, the ch-aviation fleets advanced module shows. All eight aircraft are owned by Cargo Aircraft Management, another ATSG unit.
"Once approved, we may acquire A321 feedstock aircraft later in 2021. The values indicate a good potential return. Our CapEx budget for 2020, however, does not assume any A321 feedstock purchases," Hete added.
ATSG has a joint venture with Precision Aircraft Solutions to develop the A321(P2F).