Turkish Airlines bemoans B787 delays; considers E2s

Turkish Airlines is severely constrained in its growth ambitions by the lack of available narrow- and widebody next-generation aircraft and could add as many as 70 new aircraft in 2023, Chairman Ahmet Bolat told aviation journalist Kurt Hofmann. "I’m planning to open new routes, but missing widebodies. If I can find them right now, we could easily buy 20 more next-generation widebody aircraft - B787s or A350s - ready to come in 2023," Bolat said. The carrier had hoped that once the FAA had recertified B787 production, deliveries of the carrier's ten remaining firm-ordered B787-9s (of which eight are already built) would have progressed smoothly. Bolat said that this hope had proven misplaced, and "nobody knows when Boeing delivers[sic] our B787s". The ch-aviation fleets advanced module shows that Turkish Airlines currently operates fifteen B787-9s. To compensate for the B787s' absence, the airline scooped six A350-900s originally assigned for Aeroflot earlier this year. Four of them have already been delivered, with the other two due to follow by year-end. In addition to these aircraft and eleven A350-900s already in Turkish Airlines' fleet, the carrier has a further 13 on order from Airbus.<br/>