Turkish Airlines needs more time for 600-aircraft order

Turkish Airlines will not be ready to announce a massive 600-aircraft order at the Paris Airshow. CEO Ahmet Bolat said that Turkish will need two more months to reach a decision and cited the recent Turkish elections as one of the reasons for the delay, he said at a press conference in Istanbul.

In April, Turkish Airlines announced a bold strategy update for the next ten years until 2033, when it wants to have a fleet of 813 aircraft. This is about double the size of the 435 aircraft that the carrier expects to have by the end of 2023.

Bolat said that Turkish is negotiating deals for 400 narrowbody aircraft with Boeing MAX and Airbus A320neo family aircraft, some 170-175 Boeing 787s and Airbus A350s, and 25 to thirty Airbus A350-1000s and Boeing 777-9s.

“The election of the new government took longer than expected. We were very close to making a deal with one of the engine manufacturers. To be fair to the other manufacturer, we are going to delay a decision for around two months. We are not going to rush our decision at Le Bourget, so we will have a separate announcement in Istanbul in about two months,” Bolat said. Another reason why a deal is not ready in two weeks at the Paris Airshow is that it includes industrial participation from Turkish aerospace companies, which needs to be finalized. 

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Richard Schuurman

Active as a journalist since 1987, with a background in newspapers, magazines, and a regional news station, Richard has been covering commercial aviation on a freelance basis since late 2016. Richard is contributing to AirInsight since December 2018. He also writes for Airliner World, Aviation News, Piloot & Vliegtuig, and Luchtvaartnieuws Magazine. Twitter: @rschuur_aero.

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