Turkish Airlines celebrates its 300th aircraft

ANKARA

Turkish Airlines has added a 300th aircraft to its fleet, an Airbus A330-300.

The addition of the plane was celebrated with a ceremony at Ataturk International Airport in Istanbul.

Speaking at the ceremony, Turkish Airlines Board Chairman M. Ilker Ayci said that Turkish Airlines was at the top among the fastest growing airlines worldwide.

"With 300 aircraft in our fleet today, we are the world's 13th largest airline in terms of fleet size, and with 39 new aircraft to be added by the end of this year, Turkish Airlines will be even more prominent at the international level with its young fleet,” Ayci said.

Douglas Anderson, Senior Sales Director of Airbus expressed gratitude to Turkish Airlines “for their confidence in Airbus aircraft”.

“Ten years ago Turkish Airlines was operating with only seven wide-body aircraft and today they have more than 70. We are honored to be a partner in their growth and look forward to be a part of their growing fleet in the coming years," he said.

Following the ceremony, the aircraft was handed over to Turkish Airlines.

Established in 1933 with a fleet of five aircraft, Turkish Airlines today is a 4-star airline with a fleet of 300 passenger and cargo aircraft flying to 284 destinations worldwide -- 235 international and 49 domestic --.

Today the carrier operates 159 Airbus aircraft, including 53 A330 variants.