Boeing scores Turkish Airlines order for 50 planes, options for more

Boeing Co. landed one of its biggest deals this year, with Turkish Airlines agreeing to buy as many as 225 jets following a White House meeting between President Donald Trump and Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Turkey’s flagship carrier will purchase 50 787 Dreamliners, with options for 25 more, according to a stock exchange filing Friday. Deliveries are scheduled between 2029 and 2034. 

Talks with Boeing for 150 narrowbodies — 100 firm and 50 options for the 737 Max 8 and Max 10 — have also been completed, pending a final agreement with engine maker CFM International Inc., Turkish Airlines said.

Negotiations are ongoing with Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC and General Electric Co for the purchase of wing-mounted engines, spare engines, and engine maintenance services for the widebody 787 aircraft.

Aircraft deals have become a staple of Trump’s meetings with foreign leaders. In recent months, he’s taken credit for getting major purchases over the line, from British Airways buying US-made jets to Qatar placing the biggest widebody order in Boeing’s history.

The Turkish accord gives Trump a win as he seeks to reduce the US trade deficit and burnish his dealmaking credentials. For Erdogan, it marks progress toward resolving a standoff over Lockheed Martin Corp.’s F-35 fighter jets that strained ties between the NATO allies.

The Boeing order could exceed $22 billion based on Ishka Ltd. valuations that account for industry-standard discounts. Turkish Airlines, which has ambitions to nearly double its fleet in the next decade and make Istanbul a global hub, also ordered as many as 230 jets from Airbus SE in 2023.

Erdogan has championed a strong national carrier to help put Turkey and its $1.4 trillion economy on the global map. Turkish Airlines says it already flies to more countries than any other carrier, using its hub in Istanbul as a major transfer point.

--With assistance from Siddharth Philip.

(Updates with details throughout.)

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