Raya Airways Sdn Bhd will lease four Airbus narrowbody passenger-to-freighter (P2F) aircraft consisting of two A320P2F and two A321P2F from ST Engineering?s aviation asset management business.

Raya Airways group managing director Mohamad Najib Ishak said the air cargo industry, being an integral part of the global supply chain, was expected to grow in tandem with the global economy.ÿ

"The recent industry outlook by the International Air Transport Association states that cargo volumes are expected to set a record high of 68.4 million tonnes in 2022 with cargo revenues expected to account for US$191 billion of industry revenues.

"With the introduction of the A320P2Fs and A321P2Fs into our fleet, we are able to scale up our operational capacity to meet the growing demand, whilst being able to reduce the carbon footprint as we push forward our sustainability agenda," he said in a statement today.

The four freighter aircraft for Raya Airways will be converted under the A320/A321P2F programme of Elbe Flugzeugwerke (EFW), which is the joint venture between ST Engineering and Airbus.ÿ

Conversion for the first aircraft, an A321, has started at ST Engineering's facility in Singapore with expected delivery in the fourth quarter of 2022.ÿ

Raya Airways chief commercial officer MD Hidayat Rahim said these were truly exciting times at Raya Airways as the added payload capacity would enable it to add numerous major routes to further expand the company's footprint in the region.

"Once converted, each A321P2F will offer 27 tonnes while each A320P2F will offer 21 tonnes, effectively increasing Raya Airways' combined payload by up to 96 tonnes.ÿ

"Our commitment to our clients is that wherever there are economic centres with robust future prospects, Raya Airways aims to be there," he added.