Although it has received revised proposals from manufacturers for as many as 600 new-generation aircraft, Turkish Airlines (TK, Istanbul Airport) has yet to make a decision on engine options, Chief Financial Officer Murat Seker said during a quarterly earnings call.
"Of course, the engines are playing a key role there. So while we are trying to decide on which aircraft type to [order], we are also very closely investigating which engine types to get and which type of maintenance contracts to get in addition. That is the reason why we have not announced any decision yet. But it's not going to take too much further time," he said.
The carrier disclosed plans to order 400 narrowbodies and 200 widebodies in May 2023, with the initial expectation that a deal would be announced during the IATA AGM in Istanbul in early June. The finalisation of the contract was delayed first by the Turkish presidential elections, and then by protracted talks with Airbus and Boeing.
Turkish Airlines aims to grow its capacity by 7-10% per year in terms of available seat kilometres (ASKs). If the delivery pipeline of new aircraft proves insufficient to reach this goal, the carrier will source additional capacity via operating leases.
As of August 4, the airline had 425 aircraft in its fleet, including aircraft operated by AnadoluJet and sourced through wet leases. It expects to add ten net units by the end of 2023, growing to around 460-470 at the end of 2024, 500 by the end of 2025, and eventually to about 600 by 2028. Seker said the exact growth trajectory will be known only once the order is finalised.
The ch-aviation fleets module shows that Turkish Airlines' existing order book with manufacturers comprises forty-eight A321-200Ns, twelve A350-900s, and seven B787-9s.
AnadoluJet, the carrier's low-cost subsidiary, is poised to be an important growth platform. Turkish Airlines recently completed the spin-off of the LCC into a separate company, AJet, in early August 2023. It has yet to complete its certification and as such, for now, continues to use its parent code. It operates 69 aircraft with plans to grow to 88 by the end of 2023.
Like other carriers around the world, Turkish has been affected by the Pratt & Whitney PW1100G engine issues and has grounded nine of its fifty-two A321-200NX for inspections.
"Our technical team is looking at the situation closely, we might be adding two or three more to the list [in the coming months]. So overall, we might finish the year with 11 or 12 narrowbody aircraft grounded due to the GTF engine problem," Seker said.
