MNG Airlines (MB, Istanbul Airport) has started flights to the United States following the launch of a 2x weekly Cologne/Bonn, Germany to New York JFK return service last week. Operations are onboard the Turkish carrier's only A330-200F.

Until this development, MNG's route network had focussed primarily on connecting its Istanbul Sabiha Gökcen and Istanbul Atatürk hubs with cities across Western Europe and the Middle East using a fleet that also includes five A300-600R(F)s.

According to the ch-aviation capacity module, the most prolific operator of scheduled non-express cargo flights between Europe and the US is Lufthansa with 28 departures per week followed by Cargolux with 16, Qatar Airways with 12, CAL Cargo Air Lines with 9, and AirBridgeCargo with 5. MNG's Turkish compatriot, Turkish Airlines, operates two flights per week.