Turkish Airlines will sign a deal with Avolon and Carlyle for a total of 14 A321neo family aircraft on the second day of the Paris Air Show.
These aircraft will be for its low cost subsidiary Ajet.
Speaking to a closed media event at the air show on the first day, June 16, Turkish chairman Ahmet Bolat said the company was facing delivery delays from both Boeing and Airbus. As a result, it is looking to lessors to support its growth strategy.
“The main issue is the delivery delays,” said Bolat. “Day by day, both aircraft manufacturers are informing us the aircraft further delayed, but meanwhile we are working with lessors.”
He added the new aircraft will allow to maintain its 8% growth rate target.
In addition, the company is in negotiations with Chinese lessor CALC for 737 MAX jets destined for Turkish Airlines, though the company couldn’t share details as talks were still ongoing.
Turkish had closed a financing deal in Chinese yuan for three A350 aircraft between May and July last year. Bolat noted this was a cheaper financing option for the company.
Bolat said the company had a “very final gap” in its negotiations with Boeing regarding its order for approximately 150 737 MAX and 75 787 jets – totalling 225 aircraft – and hoped to close at the show. However, the recent Air India crash saw both Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg and its commercial arm CEO Stephanie Pope pulling out of the show and order announcements cancelled in tandem, resulting in a subdued presence from the US OEM at this year’s Paris Air Show. This had subsequently stalled the deal being closed.
When asked about timing of a deal being closed, Bolat noted that things were “changing every day” and did not commit to a possible timeline. He further maintained that the main contentions surrounding the order was engine pricing, which Bolat said the higher pricing could not be reflected onto ticket prices.
“Customers always want competitive prices,” he said when discussing the engine pricing impact. “That’s the real issue now. These orders that airlines are making now, I’m not sure whether they have done their engine calculations.”
In addition, Bolat noted it will be adding a new line to its long list of subsidiaries with its maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) company Turkish Technic establishing an independent maintenance facility at Istanbul Airport to support the A350 and A330neo aircraft engines in “a couple of weeks”. Turkish Technic and Rolls-Royce had signed an agreement related to the facility in May this year. The facility will support the XWB-97, Trent XWB-84, and Trent 7000 engines.
The induction of the first engine will be at the end of 2027. Bolat mused that Turkish was “still looking for the name” of this new company.
The company recently launched its package holidays company Turkish Airlines Holidays in February this year. Turkish Airlines chief commercial officer Ahmet Olmustur said it was still looking to grow this segment and would later begin adding new destinations into the package holiday network as it matures.