The first passenger-to-freighter A330-300 and A330-200 conversions are expected to take flight in 2016 under a tie-up programme between ST Aerospace and EADS EFW, according to an Airbus announcement.

The joint venture expects that the bigger A330-300s will carry a higher, low-weight freight and be sought by integrator and express delivery companies, reports Rosewell, Georgia's Air Cargo World, while the A330-200s are more suited to heavier freight over great distances.

ST Aerospace is taking the engineering lead on the A330P2F, which will be manufactured at EADS EFW's facilities in Dresden.

"Aircraft conversion is one of the most complex modifications, which demands precision engineering finesse," said ST Aerospace president Chang Cheow Teck.

In August, EADS EFW freighter vice president Wolfgang Schmid spoke with Air Cargo World about the possibility of an A330 programme, saying there is an immediate feedstock of eight hundred A330 passenger aircraft in operation, with a backlog of more than 300 aircraft on order.

"This means that we expect a strong demand will be covered by a strong feedstock base for many years," said Mr Schmid.