\Yemenia, the official carrier of the state of Yemen, based in Sanaa, has signed a firm contract to buy 10 A320 Family aircraft from Airbus. The agreement follows the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed at the Dubai air show.

The aircraft, seating 12 passengers in Business and 138 in Economy class, will replace Yemenia's existing fleet of Single Aisle and widebody aircraft, enhance and expand their regional services to Gulf States, Middle East, Africa, India and Southern European destinations, and help to stimulate economic growth in Yemen.

Captain Abdulkhalek Al-Kadi, Chairman and CEO of Yemenia said, "Our new A320s will share operational and maintenance commonality with our existing Airbus A330s and our future A350s. The increased efficiency of this integrated fleet will help us achieve our growth targets. The A320 will also enable us to redefine our services by offering our passengers the best cabin comfort in its class. Yemenia is taking this major decision to add a major Fleet modernisation leap. Very soon, we will have a total New Generation Fleet, which will strengthen our Competitiveness" Captain Alkadi added.

"The A320 is today's standard in the Single-Aisle sector and with continuous improvements we are strengthening the aircraft's leadership position. The A320 is already better by design and it keeps on getting better. Yemenia will benefit from Airbus' aircraft family concept which maximises maintenance and operational efficiency," said John Leahy, Airbus Chief Operating Officer, Customers.

Yemenia's choice further re-enforces the A320 as the aircraft of choice in the Middle East.

Yemenia's long haul fleet operate to destinations in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. During the 2007 Dubai airshow, Yemenia placed an order with Airbus for ten Airbus A350 XWB.

Airbus aircraft share a unique cockpit and operational commonality, allowing airlines to use the same pool of pilots, cabin crews and maintenance engineers, bringing operational flexibility and resulting in significant cost savings.

Source: Press Release (Airbus)