Turkey has gone through a lot of political uncertainty in the past few years. However, it seems that their travel industry has not been hit as hard. Turkish Airlines is the country’s flag carrier, and largest carrier. The airline has tried to create a similar model to that of the Middle East Big 3. Their idea is to use Istanbul, the historical connector between the “East” and the “West”, as a major transit hub. The airline has been successful, but not to the scale of the ME3. As the airline continues to bridge the gap between them and the ME3, Turkish Airline orders 787 jets, as part of a fleet replacement. The airline plans to order 40 Boeing jets in order to expand.

 

Current Fleet

Turkish Airlines has a very varied fleet. Their flagship international aircraft is the 777-300ER. They have close to 35 aircraft in their fleet, and they fly their flagship international routes. The airline also operates over 50 A330s and around 3 A340s (per Wikipedia). For their short haul routes, the airline flies a wide mix of A320 family and 737-800 aircraft. I suspect that the 787 order is to begin replacing the A330s and A340s with more fuel efficient aircraft. The airline also has a huge back order of A321neos and 737MAX planes.

The Gap Being Filled

As much as I like the A330, I think its golden days are over. As newer aircraft like the 787 and the A350 begin to take over, the A330 will have its niche overtaken. The benefits offered by the 787 and the A350 is fuel economy on ultra long range routes. These aircraft allow carriers to operate flights to far flung places, without the need to fill up huge aircraft like the A380 or 777. This gives the airline the ability to add flights to thinner destinations, and still turn a profit. With the new 787, I see Turkish Airlines starting flights to new airports. The ones I think of are returning to Newark, Seattle and other cities that are Star Alliance hubs in the US.

Turkish Logic

As happy as I am seeing Turkish Airlines order 787s, I believe there are political reasons for the order. As the Turkish president finds himself being pushed away by major world leaders, I can see the purchases as being politically moved. Since Boeing is the US’ largest exporter, this can be a way for the government to make nice with the US establishment. This isn’t the first time we would see this happen. A few weeks ago, the Malaysian Prime Minister announced an order for Malaysia Airlines 787s. I expect the same political motives were found in these two deals. This is highlighted by the agreement between Boeing and the Turkish government to boost the country’s aerospace industry.

Landing Thoughts:

I am very happy to see Turkish Airlines begin to revamp their fleet. The airline offers a solid soft product, but their seats do not have all aisle access. On their 777s, there are middle seats in business. Hopefully, with the new 787s we will see a new interior and new seats. Even if there are political moves behind this order, Turkish Airlines needed to place an order of similar size to be able to compete with the ME3.

What do you think? Should Turkish Airlines order more 787s? How much do you think the order was a political move? Let us know!

 

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H/T: Bloomberg

 

Images from: Wikimedia