Turkish Airlines is picking up more widebody aircraft for its fleet, with a last-minute deal for jets to be delivered from this year.
The Turkish flag carrier announced on May 20, 2022 that it has decided to purchase six Airbus A350-900 aircraft, which will be delivered in 2022 and 2023.
The airline did not provide further details in the brief statement to investors on its website.
However, the short delivery times indicate that Turkish Airlines is taking jets originally ordered by a different customer.
The most likely candidate is Russian flag carrier Aeroflot, which has 13 A350-900 on order that have yet to be delivered. With sanctions in place against Russian airlines over the country’s invasion of Ukraine, Airbus is unable to deliver jets to Aeroflot.
Aerotelegraph cites “well informed sources” that the A350 aircraft were originally destined for Aeroflot.
Turkish Airlines already has six A350-900 in service, with a further 14 on order and options for five more. Together with the six new orders, that could see its fleet grow to 31 of the Airbus widebody.
