SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 26 (Xinhua) -- U.S. aerospace leader Boeing Company said Monday that Turkey's flag carrier Turkish Airlines has placed an order for three more 777 freighters to expand its long-haul freighter fleet.
Boeing said the new order came a few days after Turkish Airlines posted record double-digit profits for the first nine months of 2018 due to strong passenger and cargo demand.
The Turkish carrier's air freight business increased 25 percent in tonnage terms, with its revenue growing 29 percent over the same period of last year.
With the rapid growth of its profits and strong business performance, Turkey has become one of the largest and fastest-growing aviation markets in recent years.
Turkey has been making constant efforts to expand its current and future aircraft fleet. It ordered three Boeing 777 freighters last January and finalized an order for 25 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners with five options in March last year.
Turkish Airlines also began taking delivery of new 737 MAX single-aisle passenger jets over the past several months. Its fleet of Boeing aircraft has grown to more than 160 jets, while nearly 100 additional planes are on order.
Boeing said the 777 freighters have a maximum range of 89,070 km with a full payload of 102 metric tons, which will save the Turkish carrier a large amount of fuel, cargo handling costs and delivery time.
Boasting more than 30 Boeing 777 jets in its fleet, Turkish Airlines is one of the top 10 operators of the wide-body jet in Europe and the Middle East.
