Turkish Airlines has completed the financing of two new Airbus A350-900 aircraft through an Itasca insurance-backed JOLCO structure, the company said today (November 17).
“This marks not only our first JOLCO transaction with Itasca, but also the first aircraft financing that Bank of China and JP Lease have carried out with Turkish Airlines,” the company said.
The new aircraft will support its continued fleet and network expansion.
The deal follows the airline's five-year financing facility with Bank of China, arranged by Bank of China Turkey, which was announced at the end of last month.
The facility amounts to 2.9bn Chinese yuan ($412 million) and will support the airline's core development initiatives, including fleet expansion, business growth, and the construction of new facilities and infrastructure projects at Istanbul Airport. It is also part of the airline's efforts to diversify its funding sources.
Earlier this month, Turkish Airlines received its first of 25 737 MAX 8 aircraft from lessor AerCap, from a deal that was signed in October 2023.
The airline reported a third-quarter profit of $1.1bn for its main operations, a drop of 21.3% despite revenue growth and record passenger traffic.
Turkish Airlines carried 27.2 million passengers between July and the end of September, its highest third-quarter figure in history. Passenger revenues climbed by 6.1%, driven by strong demand and higher capacity.