ANKARA – Turkey has sent a thunderbolt through the aviation industry by placing a mega order of Airbus aircraft, in a bid to dominate the sky.
Turkish Airlines chief executive Bilal Eksi confirmed in a social media statement that the airline has ordered as many as 355 aircraft including Airbus’ A321 and A350.
The deal has pleasantly surprised the aviation buffs and would expand the Turkish flag carrier’s existing fleet of 439 jets.
“I wish good luck to our country and our company,” Eksi said.
In another statement, Turkish Airlines said that the purchases would be made as part of its strategic plan for 2023-2033.
Confusion still prevails over the number of jets ordered. Turkish Airlines said it had made firm orders for 230 jets and placed purchasing rights for an additional 125 aircraft.
On the other hand, Airbus said the 230 figure included 10 jets Turkish Airlines had ordered in September and thus covered only 220 new aircraft.
Nonetheless, the airline’s confirmed order purchase has a catalogue price of more than $40 billion though the carrier must have availed discount for having placed such a huge order.
Earlier in February, India’s famous airline, Air India stunned the aviation world by placing orders for whopping 470 Boeing and Airbus passenger jets. The carrier made headlines with the purchase of 220 Boeing aircraft valued at $34bn and 250 passenger jets from manufacturer Airbus.
The mind-bending deal was Airbus’ third-largest sale of all time, in dollar value, and its second of all time in terms of quantity.
The deal was so big that even the US President Joe Biden termed the agreement ‘historic’ and discussed it telephonically with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Air India is eyeing to capture the market dominated by middle-class Indians and is putting in efforts to expand its operations and modernise its fleet. The airline’s owner firm, Tata is also challenging its rival IndiGo on multiple fronts.
The Boeing order includes 190 737 Max aircraft, 20 of its 787s and 10 of its 777Xs while the total worth of the deal is unknown as Airbus has not disclosed it. An interesting aspect of the deal is that India can buy an additional 370 planes from the manufacturers, possibly taking the number of planes to 840.
Asia in general and India in particular has seen a rising demand for air travel fuelled by host of factors including the growth of the middle class that now prefers air travel for leisure and work.
Meanwhile, when it comes to volume, Airbus is also a reputed name and is a leader in designing, manufacturing and delivering aerospace products, services and solutions. The firm boasts around 130,000 employees who deliver services to the global community.
