Member Article

Airbus receive bumper Turkish order

Turkish airline Pegasus Airlines has ordered up to 100 Airbus planes in a deal worth around $7.5bn.

A signing ceremony in Istanbul was held this week for the deal which is said to be the single biggest order in Turkish aviation history.

The deal is another victory for Airbus who last week celebrated a £5.5bn order from AirAsia which will buoy UK production.

Up to 100 new A320neo and A321neo aircraft worth a total of $12bn will be built for the carrier, who have been flying passengers since 2005.

Pegasus CEO, Sertac Haybat, said: “We introduced low-cost air travel to our guests, made possible by our airline’s operations. When we began our journey, we promised our guests three main benefits: they would fly at affordable prices, arrive at their destinations on-time and fly in new aircraft.

“We have kept our promises for the past seven years and have regularly introduced innovative features for our guests. At the end of seven years, we are now providing 1,700 scheduled flights a week. As of December 2012, the average age of the fleet is 3.86 years and since the first day of operation, we have welcomed 49 million guests on a fleet of 42 aircraft.

“We are now Europe’s Fastest Growing Airline, offering 62 destinations in 26 different countries. Although we did not launch civil aviation in Turkey, our Pegasus model has transformed it.”

Airbus chief operating officer John Leahy said he was “delighted” with the deal, and noted that new technologies on the aircrafts would yield cost savings through fuel efficiency.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .