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On Wednesday, January 14, 2026, Elbe Flugzeugwerke (EFW) handed over the eighth cargo aircraft to its customer Air China Cargo. With this delivery, EFW has successfully completed a significant contract in China. The conversion of the passenger aircraft was planned in Dresden and carried out by Ameco in Chengdu, China, one of eight international conversion sites in EFW’s network.
Successful Collaboration in the Conversion
Torsten Kuehn, head of the conversion program at EFW, expressed pride during the handover ceremony in Chengdu about the successful collaboration between the teams from Air China Cargo and Ameco. “We look forward to continuing our partnership in the coming years,” said Kuehn.
Shen Min, CEO of Ameco, emphasized that the delivery of the first aircraft marked the beginning of the cooperation and the complete delivery represents the start of a new phase of collaboration. Ameco plans to initiate a new round of global P2F (Passenger-to-Freighter) projects with EFW. The goal is to deepen the strategic partnership with EFW and jointly advance the continuous development of the P2F ecosystem.
The conversion of Air China’s cargo aircraft (A330-200) took about two years; the first converted cargo aircraft was put into operation in the first quarter of 2023. EFW brings its expertise and certifications into the conversion process and directly commissions Ameco to carry out the work.
Ameco is responsible for the maintenance of the entire Air China fleet. One of the special features of the Chengdu site is the conversion of passenger aircraft to cargo aircraft. EFW and Ameco have been working together since July 2022. As part of the cooperation, specialists have been exchanged and trained at the respective locations. EFW experts support their Chinese colleagues during certain phases of the conversion on-site and conduct quality inspections and acceptance procedures at the end of the process.
