Turkish Airlines (THY) has placed an order with European aircraft manufacturer Airbus for 15 long-haul A330-300 aircraft as part of its expansion plan.
Although the Istanbul-based carrier has not disclosed the value of the order, it is estimated at $3.5bn according to Atwonline.com.
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The carrier expects to receive the first four aircraft in 2014, six in 2015 and five in 2016, with plans to deploy them in higher density routes.
Turkish Airlines chief executive officer Temel Kotil was quoted by Financial Times as saying that the new fleet would enable the airline to deploy more flights to destinations such as New York, Chicago and Los Angeles in the US, as well as to China and Japan.
"We generally have 1,000 flights a day, but normally airlines with that number of destinations have 2,000 flights, so it is natural to expand to increase frequency," Kotil said.
The latest order will take Turkish Airlines’s A330-300 fleet to 27. The carrier currently operates a fleet of 194 aeroplanes, including ten A330-300s, seven A330-200s, two A330-200Fs and 12 777-300ERs.
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By GlobalDataTHY, which is 49% state-owned, is considering whether to purchase five additional A330-300s, as well as Boeing 777-300ER aircraft.
The A330 range offers fuel efficiency, features flight-by-wire technology and advanced onboard systems, which provide high aerodynamic efficiency, it covers a range of 5,450 nautical miles, with a maximum takeoff weight capacity of 240mt.
It can accommodate up to 300 people with 36 seats in business class and the remaining in economy class.
Recently, Philippine Airlines (PAL) placed a $2.5bn order for 10 A330 jets, with each carrying a list price of $250m.
In July 2012, Airbus announced its plans to set up an aircraft assembly facility at Brookley Aeroplex in Mobile, US, with an investment of $600m to meet the growing demand for its aircraft.
The facility is expected to begin operations and initial deliveries in 2015 and 2016 respectively.
Image: The latest 15 aircraft order is expected to increase Turkish Airlines’s A330-300 fleet to 27. Photo: courtesy of Airbus SAS.
