Japan Airlines (JAL) has begun converting Airbus A321 aircraft into freighters for use on a domestic freighter network due to launch in April next year.

“Conversion of the first aircraft began on May 8 in Singapore and is expected to be completed by mid-September,” the airline said in a statement. Another two A321s are also due for conversion.

The conversions are being carried out by ST Engineering in Singapore under the supervision of Elbe Flugzeugwerke (EFW). The refurbishment process is expected to be completed by October, post which the aircraft will be ferried to Japan.
The second and third aircraft are currently parked in France, confirmed JAL.

The domestic freighter network that the A321 passenger to freighter (P2F) conversions will be used on will be operated by Spring Japan, JAL’s low-cost carrier, in partnership with Yamato.

Spring Japan will utilize the freighters to operate 21 flights a day on four key routes.

The planned flight schedule is between Tokyo (Narita/Haneda) and Kitakyushu, Tokyo (Narita/Haneda) and Sapporo (New-Chitose), Tokyo (Narita) and Okinawa (Naha), and Okinawa (Naha) and Kitakyushu.

JAL also recently announced it will add three 767-300ER freighters to its fleet, with operations due to start at the end of the 2023 fiscal year.