SunExpress jump starts Dubai Airshow with Boeing jet order

SunExpress Airlines, a joint venture between Turkish Airlines and Lufthansa, placed the first order at the Dubai Airshow on Monday and used the spotlight to remind Boeing to deliver on time after a series of industry delays. The budget carrier said it was placing a firm order for 45 narrow-body 737 MAX jets to be delivered between 2029 and 2035, with options or purchase rights for another 45. The roughly $5b-deal at list prices unexpectedly kicked off the aerospace jamboree as the schedule for big-ticket purchases expected from regional heavyweights such as Emirates and Turkish Airlines slipped amid last-minute negotiations. SunExpress CE Max Kownatzki presented a picture of the Frankfurt skyline to Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Stan Deal in a play on the term "skyline" used to describe the backlog of planned deliveries in Boeing's airplane factories. Boeing and rival Airbus have been hit with chronic delays. "This is a bit of a breach of protocol. We had agreed not to exchange presents," Kownatzki said. "So we wanted to have a friendly token of thank you and also a gently and friendly reminder (to) make sure that the skyline is kept for the deliveries that we’re waiting for," he told Deal in a joint press conference. As travel rebounds from the pandemic, low-cost tourist airlines rely especially on getting new planes delivered in time for the summer season each year.<br/>