Airbus SAS announced a new, “firm” order by Turkish Airlines for four A330-200F freighter aircraft, to be used in the carrier’s planned expansion in the air cargo market. The new jets will join the five A330-200Fs that Turkish Airlines currently operates under its Turkish Cargo brand. The A330-200F is a wide-body twin-engine aircraft that carries a 65- to 70-metric ton payload and has a range of up to 4,000 nautical miles.
Airbus did not indicate the value of the order, nor its delivery schedule.
“The A330-200F freighter aircraft have demonstrated outstanding operational reliability and performance for our cargo transport operations. It is with this in mind that we chose to expand our freighter fleet with more A330-200F,” stated the carrier’s CEO Dr. Temel Kotil,
Turkish Airlines operates a total of 139 Airbus aircraft, including 91 single-aisle jets, two A310 freighters, 17 A330-200s, 18 A330-300s, five A330-200Fs, and six A340s.
The Airbus order extends to Rolls-Royce plc, which was selected to supply its Trent 700 engines for the four twin-engine jets. The order also include a long-term TotalCare® service support deal for Turkish Airlines. The order is worth $300 million, Rolls-Royce noted.
Turkish Airlines operates 11 A330ceo passenger jets and five A330 freighter aircraft powered by Trent 700 engines.
“This is further demonstration of the market’s continued demand for both the A330 and the Trent 700,” commented Dominic Horwood, Rolls-Royce, chief customer officer for Civil Large Engines.
