Freight In Orbit
Orbital Cargo Opens
Orbital Airways has completed its first passenger-to-freighter conversion of one of its A300-600 aircraft, N521OJ. The aircraft left the hanger this week to begin operating its first freight route, PHX to CLT. Just earlier this year, Orbital Airways announced plans to retire A300 (and eventually A310) aircraft from passenger service and transition them to a new division — Orbital Cargo.
Above: N521OJ in hangar, a former passenger A300-600R that will now fly freight under the Orbital Cargo banner.
Each aircraft will undergo the extensive passenger-to-freighter (“P2F”) overhaul. Passenger seats, galleys and interiors are removed, reinforcements are made and new side paneling and a large freight door are installed in each retrofit. All aircraft will have up to five jumpseats located where the forward galley used to be. ORC routes will be available for pilots to operate or jumpseat on starting immediately.
Orbital Cargo will operate a more global network of cargo routes, prefixed now with ORC, than other Orbital Airways divisions. Each A300-600RF aircraft will support a payload of more than 100,000 lb of freight in a variety of container and pallet configurations.
Look for the new ORC-prefixed routes entering the timetable presently! The new livery and adjustments to the existing A300 pack is available for download in the Hangar.
