Airbus has secured a second agreement for its A350 freighter model at this week’s Paris Airshow in a deal with Turkey-based MNG Airlines.
The aircraft manufacturer confirmed that MNG has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for two aircraft as the airline continues to expand its reach and freighter fleet.
The A350F will become a “central element in MNG’s future fleet”, the two companies said in a press release.
Chief executive of conglomerate Mapa Group and chairman of MNG Airlines, Murathan Doruk Günal, said: “This agreement for two A350F deepens a partnership with Airbus across its full range of freighter programmes.
”This move strengthens our position across key trade lanes, including Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and a growing footprint in North America. It will support both our scheduled and charter operations and give us added flexibility to meet evolving cargo demands, from e-commerce to high-value freight and express logistics.”
Benoît de Saint-Exupéry, Airbus executive vice president, sales, commercial aircraft, added: “We are delighted to welcome MNG Airlines as the latest customer for the A350F, underscoring the strong market appeal for this game-changing freighter.
"The A350F will bring new generation efficiency and performance as well as new levels of capacity and unprecedented loading flexibility. We look forward to ensuring a seamless integration into MNG’s operations.”
The MoU comes as MNG has been expanding its freighter fleet in recent years.
In March, the Istanbul-headquartered airline took delivery of a leased Airbus A330-300 passenger-to-freighter (P2F) aircraft.
MNG offers capacity on both scheduled flights and charter options.
According to fleet tracking site Planespotters, the airline has 11 cargo aircraft: four Airbus A330-300Fs, three Airbus A300-600P2Fs- one of which is operating for DHL Aviation, two A330-200Fs and two A321-200P2Fs.
The freighter operator offers international cargo services to and from Europe, the Middle East and Africa through its own flights and partnerships with other airlines.
Earlier this week, Airbus also announced an order from Saudi Arabian lessor AviLease for 10 of the model.
The aircraft will carry up to 111 tonnes with a range of 8,700 km. Powered by Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-97 engines, it will offer up to 40% reduction in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions compared to previous generation aircraft.
More than 70% of the airframe is made of advanced materials, helping to reduce the takeoff weight, while at launch, it will be the only freighter aircraft that will fully meet ICAO’s enhanced CO2 emissions standards, coming into effect in 2027.
Airbus announced in February this year that it would push back the entry-into-service date of its A350 freighter to the second half of 2027, from its earlier expectation of 2026.
As of May, the company has firm orders for 63 A350 freighters, with 60 of them attributed to 10 identified customers.
