Qantas Freight takes first of three extra A321 converted freighters

Qantas Freight and Australia Post have taken delivery of the first of three additional Airbus A321 passenger-to-freighter aircraft, registered VH-XF7. The jet is almost 20 years old and owned by the leasing company Aercap.

It flew passengers for China Southern Airlines from 2007 until the summer of 2025, configured with 189 seats: 12 in business class and 167 in economy. After a standstill of a little more than a year, Aercap had the A321 converted to a freighter in Singapore under the A321 P2F programme run by ST Engineering, Airbus and Elbe Flugzeugwerke.

It is the seventh A321 P2F in the Qantas Freight fleet, with two more to follow. The next aircraft, to be registered VH-XF8 and also a former China Southern jet owned by Aercap, is currently in Singapore. All of them will be operated for Qantas Freight by the subsidiary Express Freighters Australia.

According to the airline, the three aircraft will increase capacity on Qantas's all-cargo network by up to 20 percent. Each flight can carry up to 20,000 parcels for Australia Post and its subsidiary Star Track.

The converted freighters replace three BAE 146-300 aircraft. VH-XF7 arrived a few weeks before the Black Friday sales and the peak Christmas delivery season. The airline said the additional aircraft should help Australia Post and Qantas Freight keep pace with rising demand while millions of Australians shop online. The freighters are to serve all of Qantas Freight's domestic terminals.