Türkiye's national carrier Turkish Airlines (THY) has decided to purchase 10 additional Airbus A350-900s aircraft, nearly doubling its existing fleet of widebody planes, the company said in a public filing on Monday.
It disclosed no financial details in a brief statement, saying only that a decision to acquire the jets in three batches between 2025 and 2027 has been approved by the company board.
Turkish Airlines now has 14 A350-900s and 20 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners, which is the European jet's main competitor in the long-range, widebody market, according to a company spokesperson.
An A350-900 was worth 317.4 million euros ($343 million) in 2018 when the aircraft manufacturer's price catalog was last released.
Manufacturers rarely sell their planes at the advertised prices, usually offering discounts for large orders.
In June, Turkish Airlines said it was preparing to order 600 new aircraft, with deliveries to be spread over 10 years, increasing the carrier’s fleet to 810 planes by 2033.
Such an order was set to be the largest in the industry’s history by a single airline, eclipsing a record order by Air India for 470 Airbus and Boeing planes in December last year.
However multiple reports last month suggested that the company had delayed the orders, citing growing issues related to engine production and quality on both Boeing and Airbus planes.
The airline, which currently has an active fleet of some 400 aircraft, this year celebrated its 90th year of service. Starting its operations with only five aircraft and fewer than 30 seats in 1933, the THY over decades evolved into a global powerhouse that today boasts an unparalleled flight network and fleet.
Earlier this year company officials said they aim to upgrade their fleet to 435 aircraft by the end of the year, while according to the 10-year strategic plan, they foresee the company flying 170 million passengers.
The carrier achieved a complete rebound following the COVID-19 pandemic and managed to serve about 82 million passengers in 2022, a figure the company seeks to lift to 85 million this year.
