As part of a new partnership with Lufthansa Cargo for their new A321F operations, the Manchester team recently handled their first freighter service. As part of the preparation for the first flight, operations trainer Matthew Thompson, pictured above, went to Munich to be trained by Lufthansa and dispatch live flights.

Matthew described the experience: “In preparation for this flight, I was lucky enough to travel to Munich, Germany to see this brand-new aircraft before most. A classroom session was followed by a live demonstration on board with real cargo-laden pallets. We were shown all the new pallet positions and functions of this new aircraft. It was a brilliant experience.

“For the first flight, I briefed the teams on exactly what to expect from this aircraft, the loading sequences we should be using, where the new cargo doors are located, etc. A lot of planning went into the first flight so it’s safe to say I was a little nervous but mainly excited. Our teams were excited to see and handle this brand-new aircraft type too!”

The A321P2F (passenger to freighter) is a new aircraft concept that gives a new lease of life to older A321 passenger aircraft. It’s a first for Lufthansa and still rare in the industry (launched at the end of 2020). In the conversion process, the entire cabin is removed the forward passenger door has been relocated further forward which allows for 14 positions for cargo on the main deck.

Like all freighters, it has its own set of challenges such as ground stability and the team has to carefully manage the weight in the front of the aircraft at all times to prevent a tail tip.

Even with these challenges, the team did a fantastic job to deliver the technical turnaround safely and are looking forward to handling Lufthansa’s A321F twice weekly service into Manchester.