MNG Airlines has received its second A330P2F freighter conversion from Elbe Flugzeugwerke GmbH (EFW) as the Istanbul-based carrier looks to expand its services and flight network amidst rising air cargo demand.

The aircraft, with registration TC-MCN, is ready to take on the skies once again with commercial operations slated to start in mid-September.

The widebody freighter will offer higher structural and volumetric payload capacity and will be deployed on both scheduled and charter routes, the airline said.

This follows the delivery of A330-300P2F with registration TC-MCM, delivered in November last year. Since then, the aircraft has completed nearly 3,000 flight hours and carried over 12,000 tonnes of cargo in the last 9 months between the China-Türkiye and Europe network.

MNG Airlines, which operates with a fleet of six A300-600s and three A330s, said it was the first Turkish company to invest in the acquisition and conversion of the A330 aircraft into freighters in December of 2020. With a current fleet of nine widebody aircraft, it plans to add two more A330-300P2Fs beyond 2024.

The carrier is not limiting itself to widebody jets, as Ali Sedat Özkazanç, General Manager of MNG Airlines, commented: “market demand and trends for short distance as well as the opportunity for highest fuel efficiency and lower cost per tones have led us to the decision to complement our fleet with A321P2F in 2023 and 2024.”