Turkish Airlines to buy 7 Boeing, 10 Airbus planes

The purchases are the first under a plan, announced in October 2008, worth $6 billion at list prices to buy up to 105 planes from the two aircraft makers, according to a company statement.

 

Of the 10 A330 Airbus planes, three jets are with options, the e-mailed statement said. The Boeing aircraft are B777-300 ER jets, it said.

 

Turkish Airlines previously said the 105 aircraft include options for 30 planes. The planes will be procured between 2010 and 2012, the statement said.

 

"The new aircraft ... will bring Turkish Airlines' fleet of wide-body planes to 37 this year," the company's e-mailed statement said.Â

 

Turkish Airlines could be in the market for more aircraft, separate from the tender for 105 aircraft, industry sources said at the Paris Air Show this week.

 

The airline, one of Europe's fastest growing carriers, bought five Boeing 777 wide-body planes last month that were not part of the main tender, the sources said.

 

Turkish Airlines also said on Friday that it would lease a B777-300 ER plane from September for 25 months from Delaware Aircraft Lease.

 

The state-run carrier posted 12.2 percent passenger growth in April, signaling a potential recovery in traffic in the second quarter, after the global industry saw a slowdown amid a worldwide recession.

 

Its shares rose 1.06 percent to 9.55 lira, bringing gains this year to 79 percent, more than triple the main index's rise.