Qantas Airways Limited (ASX:QAN) has officially started flying the world’s first A321 converted to carry cargo rather than the passengers.
The A321P2F is run by Qantas in collaboration with Australian Post and is one of three to be handed over to the airline. The company traditionally uses its 737-300Fs for its cargo transportation facility and this specific Airbus was originally sent to British Midland in 1998 as G-MIDC.
Qantas and Australia Post have agreed to a seven-year contract covering domestic as well as international air freight worth $1 billion, along with A321 being an integral part of this deal.
As per the media sources, the plane can carry up to 27.9 tonnes of cargo in a two-deck layout consisting 14 containers on the main deck and around 10 on the lower one. The aircraft is of a range of 2,300 nautical miles.
Meanwhile, the QAN stock on the ASX traded at $4.235 per share with a market capitalisation of $8.20 billion at 1:11 PM AEDT.
