Qantas Freight and Australia Post have received the first of three additional Airbus A321 Passenger-to-Freighter aircraft at Western Sydney, Australia, ahead of the Black Friday and Christmas parcel peaks. The freighter will operate on Qantas Freight’s dedicated Australia Post network, supporting overnight and next-day deliveries nationwide while increasing network capacity by up to 20% once all three aircraft are in service.
Each A321P2F can carry up to 20,000 Australia Post and StarTrack parcels per flight, more than twice the capacity of the smaller BAe 146-300 freighters previously used on the contract. The two remaining aircraft are scheduled to join the fleet by March 2027.
The aircraft will serve Qantas Freight’s domestic terminals, including the 24-hour cargo facility at Western Sydney International Airport, where overnight operations began in July. The curfew-free terminal enables later parcel acceptance and greater flexibility for next-day deliveries to customers in western Sydney.
The first aircraft, registered VH-XF7, previously operated with China Southern Airlines as B-6307. Its arrival forms part of a 10-year extension to the Qantas Freight–Australia Post partnership, under which Qantas is expected to carry more than 75 million parcels and other freight items annually in Australia and internationally. The A321P2F deployment responds to growing overnight-delivery demand and heavier parcel volumes generated by online shopping and seasonal peaks.