Turkish Airlines signed a significant order for Boeing jets on Thursday (September 25). The deal includes up to 75 of the 787 Dreamliner jets— marking the airline's largest Boeing widebody order to date.
The deal includes 35 of the 787-9 model and 15 of the larger 787-10 variant, as well as options for 25 more 787 Dreamliners. The order will both grow and modernise the airline's fleet.
Turkish said it is still in discussions with both Rolls-Royce and GE Aerospace regarding engine procurement for the jets. Both the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 and the General Electric GEnx-1B engines power the 787 Dreamliners.
In addition, the airline also disclosed that it has completed the outline of its long-awaited narrowbody deal with Boeing for up to 150 737 MAX jets. The deal consists of 100 firm and 50 options for the 737 MAX 8 and 10 variants.
During a closed media event at the Paris Airshow in June 2025, Turkish Airlines chairman Ahmet Bolat had said the airline was “in the final gap” of closing the narrowbody deal with Boeing, and had initially hoped to close the deal at the show.
Amid the fallout of the Air India Flight 171 crash that same month, Boeing had cancelled all order announcements during the show.
The narrowbody deal has yet to officially close, however, with Turkish stating today that negotiations with engine manufacturer CFM International are still ongoing. Once engine negotiations have concluded, the narrowbody deal will be finalised.
During the Paris event, Bolat said engine pricing remained the main barrier to the narrowbody order. This echoed a similar sentiment made by Bolat a year prior at a closed media event during the Farnborough Air Show.
In Paris, Bolat said the higher pricing of engines could not be reflected in ticket prices.
"Customers always want competitive prices,” he said. “That’s the real issue now. These orders that airlines are making now, I’m not sure whether they have done their engine calculations.”
Deliveries for the 787 Dreamliners are expected to commence in 2029 through 2034. A person familiar with the matter said Turkish was aiming for the 737 MAX to be delivered from 2030, but it largely depends upon closing of engine talks and Boeing delivery delays.
These orders tie into Turkish Airlines' 2033 ambitions, which marks its 100th year anniversary, with the airline aiming to expand its fleet to over 800 aircraft.
The airline currently has a fleet of 485 passenger and cargo aircraft. Additionally, the airline is aiming to increase its proportion of next-generation aircraft to 90% by 2033 and to 100% by 2035.