North Africa-based Tunisair says the three A350-800s and A330-200s that it recently ordered would be instrumental in the development of its long haul market. The 60 year-old airline which signed a firm contract with Airbus for the acquisition of three A350-800s, three A330-200s and ten A320s in July 2008 under its fleet development programme, was the third African airline to order the A350 XWB aircraft.

The A330s and later on, the A350 will really allow us to develop our long haul market, while our A320 fleet, which is already performing extremely well, will be further expanded” declares Mr. Chettaoui, President and CEO of Tunisair Group. The A330s are expected to enable Tunisair modernize its wide-body fleet and seamlessly enter the long haul market, shortly opening new routes to North America.

The airline which presently operates twelve A320s, four A319s and three A300-600s, became the first airline in Africa to operate the A319 Extended-Range in 2006 when it ordered the aircraft type.

End