Turkish Airlines closes Airbus and Boeing orders

Turkish Airlines has announced that it will purchase 50 firm wide-body aircraft and 10 optional aircraft, a total of 60 wide-body aircraft, from Airbus and Boeing.
The airline said six would be delivered in 2019, 14 in 2020, 10 in 2021, 12 in 2022, 11 in 2023 and 7 in 2024.
Accordingly, a total of 30 B787-9 aircraft, 25 firm and five optional, will be purchased from Boeing and a total of 30 A350-900 aircraft, 25 firm and five optional, will be purchased from Airbus.
A memorandum of understanding with Airbus was signed last January at the Élysée Palace, Paris, during Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s official visit to France, with French President Emmanuel Macron in attendance. Also last September, during Erdogan’s visit to New York Boeing and Turkish Airlines had announced a commitment to order 787-9 Dreamliners.
M. Ilker Ayci, chairman of the board and executive committee, Turkish Airlines, said: “Today, we’re pleased to conclude this process which will bring a landmark benefit not only to Turkish Airlines, but also to Turkey’s aviation, by firmly ordering these aircraft to be added to our ever-expanding fleet. Goodwill agreements turned into firm orders, which we consider to be a very important initiative to meet our need for wide-body aircraft at Istanbul’s new airport, which will serve as our new hub once its construction process is completed.”
He added: “This great step will further strengthen our ever-expanding fleet by 2023, our country’s 100th year, and take our passengers’ satisfaction to a much higher level.”
Ayci said this will not just accelerate the steady rise of Turkish Airlines, but also contribute to Turkish civil aviation as a whole.