Turkish Airlines likely to go ahead with A380/B747-8 order

Turkish Airlines will likely proceed with plans to acquire ultra-widebody aircraft with a decision likely to be made on either the A380-800 or the B747-8 before the end of the year.
Turkish Airlines Chairman, Hamdi Topcu, told Bloomberg news in an interview that among the issues it would have to consider include capacity limitations at its Istanbul Atatürk hub.

To cope with Turkish's ambitious longterm expansion plans, Turkey intends to open a third international gateway in Istanbul capable of handling 150million pax/annum in late 2018.

On his airline's options apropos the mid and large-size wide-body market, Topcu said the Boeing B787 and B777X Families, as well as the Airbus Industrie A350 and A330neo are all currently being studied.

he said. The carrier's widebody order book currently includes thirteen A330-200ss and nineteen B777-300(ER)s.

In a bid to placate both manufacturers, Turkish Airlines has, in the past, opted to split large orders between Airbus and Boeing.
ch-aviation
Photo:PedroMB/FPP - Lisboa