Turkish Airlines (TK, Istanbul Airport) expects up to 45 of its A320neo Family aircraft will be grounded this year and into 2025 due to Pratt & Whitney PW1100G engine issues. Chief Financial Officer Murat Seker revealed during a May 23 earnings call that the situation is fluid as the advice from the engine manufacturer changes but that the airline is taking steps to mitigate the problem.

According to ch-aviation fleets data, Turkish Airlines currently has twenty of its fifty-eight A321-200NX and five of its nine A320-200Ns out of service due to required engine inspections following the discovery of contaminants in powdered metal used in the manufacturing process. Subsidiary carrier AJet (VF, Istanbul Sabiha Gökcen) operates four of the A320-200Ns and thirteen of the A321-200NX, all wet-leased from the parent.

“Our current projection is that this number will rise to the 40s by the end of this year and remain at that level for the rest of 2024 and part of 2025," Seker told the call, per a FlightGlobal report. "We expect around 40 to 45 aircraft to be grounded.”

Seker said Turkish Airlines was relying on wet-leased capacity to help mitigate the groundings. “Last year and this year, we added about 15 to 20 narrowbody aircraft - some of these contracts are still being negotiated - to compensate for this capacity loss,” he said.

After ordering 345 aircraft (220 firm orders plus 125 options) from Airbus late last year, Seker revealed that talks are underway with Boeing about another order. "We continue our close communication with Boeing regarding this order," he said. “We have not been able to finalise it yet. It is not just a negotiation between Turkish Airlines and Boeing, it also involves the engine manufacturers. It’s a combined effort. We are making progress and continue to understand each other’s needs and timing, especially regarding when we can receive the deliveries and how they align with our strategic development goals."

Separately, Turkish Airlines has confirmed a first-quarter net profit of USD266 million on revenues of USD4.77 billion. The airline carried 18.5 million passengers in the quarter, up 8.4% from a year ago. International passenger numbers increased by 6.2 to 12 million and domestic passenger numbers rose from 5.8 million to 6.4 million.