New Italian cargo airline to buy A330-200 freighters

New Italian cargo airline to buy A330-200 freighters Italian start-up air cargo airline Alis Aerolinee Italiane has signed a memorandum of understanding with Airbus for the acquisition of five A330-200 Freighter aircraft, plus options for a further three. Financial details were not disclosed.
   The fledgling airline plans to establish direct cargo links between Northern Italy and long haul markets such as North America, India, China, Japan and Southeast Asia.
   “We are fully convinced that the A330-200F will greatly contribute to our development plans and allow us to operate the most modern and efficient fleet of cargo aircraft in Italy,” said Alcide Leali, founder and chief executive officer of Alis Aerolinee Italiane.
   Airbus launched the A330-200F in 2007 and now has 77 total firm orders for the aircraft from nine customers. The European plane maker said the aircraft has the interior flexibility to carry a wide variety of pallet and container sizes for maximum interlining capability, offering 30 percent more volume than any freighter in its class. In standard “range mode” the A330-200F can carry 64 tons of cargo up to 4,000 nautical miles (7,400 kilometers), rising to 69 tons up to 3,200 nautical miles (5,930 kilometers) in “payload mode.”