The cargo division of Qantas Airways has taken delivery of the first of three additional Airbus A321 converted freighters it will operate for Australia Post to help meet growing demand for expedited parcel delivery across Australia.
The arrival of the new aircraft just weeks before Black Friday sales and the peak Christmas shipping season will help Australia Post and Qantas Freight keep up with increased demand from millions of online shoppers in Australia for overnight and next-day delivery.
The additional two A321 cargo jets are scheduled to join the Qantas fleet by March.
Together, the three aircraft will add up to 20% capacity to the Qantas operated dedicated freighter network, increasing the capability to carry up to 20,000 Australia Post and StarTrack parcels on each flight, the companies said in a joint news release Monday.
StarTrack is a wholly owned subsidiary of Australia Post that provides courier services.
Qantas Freight has eight A321 cargo jets, six of which are dedicated to support Australia Post. The new additions will give Australia Post nine dedicated A321s, all of which are used passenger jets that have been reconfigured by Elbe Flugzeugwerke, a joint venture between Airbus and Singapore’s ST Engineering, to carry containers on the main deck.
Under a 10-year contract extension last summer, Qantas Freight will also operate two Airbus A330 medium widebody freighters for Australia Post, and reserve space on Qantas passenger aircraft to carry shipments on behalf of the national postal operator.
The newest A321 freighter will be based at Qantas Freight’s new terminal at Western Sydney International Airport, which opened for business in July.
“These new aircraft will help us move more parcels across our network and provide additional capacity at a time when online shopping continues to grow and major retail events are driving record parcel volumes,” said Mark Davis, Australia Post’s general manager for linehaul fleet and special services, in the announcement. “Together with Qantas, we’re investing in the infrastructure that keeps Australia connected. The addition of these aircraft, alongside the opening of Western Sydney International Airport’s 24-hour freight terminal, will help strengthen the resilience and capacity of our network for years to come.”
Why It Matters: Australia Post and Qantas represent one of the few positive case studies for the A321 converted freighter since it entered the market six years ago. The promise of the aircraft as a replacement for the aging Boeing 757 converted freighter has not materialized. Conversion orders have been lower than expected and some airlines, including Lufthansa Cargo, have given up on the aircraft. Industry consensus is that the A321 works well in high frequency e-commerce routes where the plane’s volume is well suited for lightweight packages, but that the Boeing 737-800 converted freighter is better for general cargo.
Click here for more FreightWaves/American Shipper stories by Eric Kulisch.
Write to Eric Kulisch at ekulisch@freightwaves.com.
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