On the occasion of the Dubai Airshow, the Dubai air show, which opened its doors on Monday November 13 and will continue until Friday November 17, orders are coming one after the other. Logically, it was the Dubai airline Emirates which struck first: it announced an order for 90 Boeing 777Xs, which represents a major boost for the program for the largest twin-jet in the world, expected in 2025 after five years late, according to industrial sources cited by the Reuters agency.
Emirates also added five more Boeing 787s to an existing contract, saying the total new wide-body planes were worth more than $50 billion (€46.8 billion, at list prices). Partner airline FlyDubai also launched the event with an order for 30 Boeing 787-9s, its first wide-body aircraft.
At the same time, Saudi Arabia continues its rise in power in the region. Riyadh Air should thus finalize a transaction for one hundred Boeing 737 Max, for approximately $12 billion, list price.
Increase the size of the fleet and modernize it
An Airbus spokesperson responded almost simultaneously with the announcement that the group and Turkish Airlines had reached an agreement in principle for a “major order for commercial aircraft”. As if to fine-tune the final details of this next major operation, Guillaume Faury, CEO of the European aircraft manufacturer, stopped off in Istanbul on Saturday, November 11, before going to Dubai.
The Turkish company is preparing to order no fewer than 355 aircraft. A contract valued, list price, at more than 53 billion dollars. In detail, Turkish Airlines wishes to expand its fleet with 90 long-haul A350s, the latest super-jumbo from Airbus. It also intends to strengthen its medium-haul network, with the addition of 250 Airbus A321 Neos.
On closer inspection, this does not come as a surprise. In May, a few weeks before the opening of the Paris Air Show (June 19 to 25), near Paris, Ahmet Bolat, CEO of Turkish Airlines, announced his intention to acquire 600 new planes. According to him, these must be added to those of the company over the next ten years.
By positioning itself in this way, Turkish Airlines is showing its muscles a little more. For several years, Turkey has quietly aimed to establish itself as an essential hub between Europe and Asia. This ambition displayed by the Ankara authorities first resulted in the construction of a new airport in Istanbul, which entered service in 2019 and with a capacity, initially, of 90 million passengers per year. .
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