Delivery of the first system is planned for fall 2009 with the remainder of the work scheduled to continue through 2011. The systems will be manufactured by AAR’s Cargo Systems operating unit, which has already begun designing and engineering the first cargo system.
“We are working closely with Intrepid to design and build A330-200 cargo systems that will provide maximum efficiency and reliability for their airfreight customers,” said Terry Stinson, group VP for AAR’s Structures and Systems operating segment.
“We selected AAR as our Preferred CLS supplier to offer our A330-200 Freighters with the most robust, reliable and flexible cargo system in our baseline configuration to our customers” said Gerry Aubrey, senior leasing officer, Intrepid Aviation.
“The AAR system takes full advantage of the capabilities of the A330-200 Freighter, being able to handle both 96” and 88” pallets in side-by-side, single row or mixed configurations, as well as AMA containers. This flexibility to load various ULD configurations from one flight to another matches the mission versatility of the A330-200F.”
The AAR cargo systems can be configured in a variety of ways, enabling the removal of sections when not in use to reduce the overall weight of the aircraft and improve fuel efficiency.
The cargo systems will be installed as the new aircraft come off the assembly line at Airbus’ manufacturing facility in Toulouse, France.