Earlier in 2023, Turkish Airlines revealed that it was nearing an aircraft order for up to 600 jets, which would be one of the biggest aircraft orders in history. Even though Turkish Airlines is already huge, the airline has big growth plans, and wants to double in size in the next decade (by 2033).
Then in November 2023, the airline revealed that it was preparing to place a large order for new Airbus aircraft. There’s now a major update, as the order is official.
Turkish Airlines places huge Airbus jet order
Turkish Airlines has confirmed on its investor relations webpage that the company is preparing to purchase up to 355 aircraft from Airbus, comprised of 230 firm orders and 125 options. This includes the following aircraft:
- A firm order for 60 A350-900s, plus options for an additional 20 A350-900s
- A firm order for 15 A350-1000
- A firm order for five A350Fs, plus options for an additional five A350Fs
- A firm order for 150 A321neos, plus options for an additional 100 A321neos
The intent is that these planes will be delivered between 2026 and 2033, though we don’t have any exact details about the timeline of each individual aircraft type beyond that.
Turkish Airlines’ current fleet consists of all kinds of planes. Narrow bodies include A319s, A320s, A320neos, A321s, A321neos, 737-800s, 737 MAX 8s, 737-900s, and 737 MAX 9s. Wide body aircraft include A330-200s, A330-300s, A350-900s, 777-300ERs, and 787-9s.
My take on Turkish Airlines’ fleet renewal
Turkish Airlines currently has a serious issue with fleet consistency. Not only does the airline have so many different types of aircraft, but there’s even passenger experience inconsistency within each fleet type. With that in mind, I’m really happy to see this new order from Turkish Airlines.
Turkish Airlines going all-in on the A321neo for narrow body jets is a sensible decision. The airline already ordered 92 of these, so the fleet could eventually consist of nearly 350 of these planes. The A321neo has great economics, and given the size of Turkish Airlines’ network plus the company’s goal of doubling passenger count, it makes sense to focus on the larger variants of narrow body jets. Turkish’s A321neos are very comfortable planes to fly, and I imagine any future delivery jets will have similar interiors.
When it comes to the A350, the airline has already ordered 36 of these, so when all is said and done, Turkish Airlines should have the world’s largest A350 fleet. The only thing that potentially surprises me is that Turkish Airlines is only picking up 15 of the larger A350-1000 variant. That seems like a really small fleet for such a big airline.
I suspect we’ll also see a Boeing order from Turkish Airlines soon. I think it’s a given that the airline will pick up more 787s, though I hope we also see some 777Xs ordered, as they would be the largest planes in Turkish Airlines’ fleet. Perhaps the airline didn’t go all-in on the A350-1000 because it’s banking on the 777X.
Bottom line
Turkish Airlines has confirmed that it has placed an order for up to 355 Airbus jets, including 230 firm orders and 125 options. Two-thirds of those are for the A321neo, while around one-third are for A350s, with the airline picking up a lot more -900s than -1000s.
What do you make of Turkish Airlines’ Airbus order?
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