Jet orders boom as airlines fear shortage

Planemakers can't build them but airlines can't stop buying them. Even as they wrestle with industrial problems preventing the delivery of jets sold before the pandemic, Airbus and Boeing are totting up billions of dollars of new orders stretching beyond 2030 amid a rebound in air travel. From Air India to Ireland's Ryanair and a new national airline in Saudi Arabia, a handful of carriers have placed firm or provisional orders for 700 jets. Turkish Airlines' surprise announcement on Thursday that it plans to order 600 jets in June spells what would be the fourth mega-deal in a few months - upstaging Air India's record order for 470 Airbus and Boeing jetliners. Turkey's national champion last month announced a 10-year strategic plan including a goal of 170m passengers by 2033, compared to over 85m in 2023. "They are aspiring to build a mega-connector airline from everywhere in Europe to everywhere in Asia and Africa," said Rob Morris, head of global consultancy at UK-based Ascend by Cirium. That would intensify a battle for connecting traffic between Istanbul's hub and rival centres in Europe and the Middle East. The announcement surprised many in the industry, however. US industry analyst Richard Aboulafia highlighted its timing - days before Turkey's May 14 elections - and noted the weight simultaneously being given to strategic aerospace projects including a fighter, attack helicopter and drones. "And now this plan to make Turkey an airline centre of the world too. The timing looks almost too coincidental," Aboulafia, managing director of Aerodynamic Advisory, said. An order of such magnitude could also become swept up in broader political topics such as discussions over Turkey's objection to Sweden joining NATO, Jefferies analysts cautioned.<br/>