Turkish Airlines signs for additional A330-200 aircraft
Turkish Airlines has placed a firm order for an additional A330-200 aircraft. The purchase joins existing orders for 10 A330-300s, two A330-200 freighters and 24 A320 family aircraft signed in 2009.
The newly ordered aircraft will be powered by Rolls Royce engines and will be delivered in 2011.
Turkish Airlines has operated Airbus aircraft since 1985, and today operates the largest Airbus fleet in the country, with 70 Airbus aircraft, including four A310s, 50 A320 family aircraft, seven A330s and nine A340s.
“This new aircraft will join our existing fleet of seven A330-200s, which have already demonstrated the cost efficiency and comfort that this aircraft provides,“ said Mr. Hamdi Topcu, Chairman of Turkish Airlines.“
“We are delighted that Turkish Airlines continues to choose Airbus to accommodate their rapid growth” said John Leahy, Airbus’ Chief Operating Officer - Customers. “Their continued commitment to all members of the A330 family of aircraft clearly demonstrates that they are the best aircraft in this market segment.”
Airbus aircraft share a unique cockpit and operational commonality, allowing airlines to use the same pool of pilots, cabin crews and maintenance engineers, bringing operational flexibility and resulting in significant cost savings.
With a true wide-body fuselage creating very high comfort standards, the A330-200 is able to accommodate seat and class configurations to suit diverse customer requirements. Its large under-floor cargo holds can also carry standard pallets and containers side-by-side. It also has the excellent operational flexibility necessary to serve a wide range of route structures, providing operators with very low operating cost per seat.
The twin engine A330 is one of the most widely used wide body aircraft in service today. To date, Airbus has won more than 1,000 orders for the various versions of the aircraft. More than 600 A330s have already been delivered and the aircraft is currently flying with over 80 airlines worldwide.
Source: AIRBUS
Photo: Turkish Airlines, Airbus A321
