Turkish Airlines fleet: Difference between revisions

Aircraft operated by the national carrier of Turkey

As of November 2023^[update], Turkish Airlines operates a fleet of 437 Airbus and Boeing aircraft. The airline started its operations in 1933 with only five planes. In 1945, the airline bought over 30 cheap Douglas DC-3 and Douglas C-47s used in the Second World War from the United States of America. The DC-3s had numerous issues regarding their safety, but remained in the fleet until 1967. The first jet-engined aircraft, a leased McDonnell Douglas DC-9, joined the fleet in the same year. In 1972, several McDonnell Douglas DC-10s were acquired, becoming the first wide-body aircraft of the carrier. Fokker F28 Fellowships also joined the fleet the same year. Boeing 727s were added two years later. With the Airbus A310 joining in 1985, Douglas DC-10 and Fokker F28s were transferred to Boğaziçi Hava Taşımacılığı to standardize the fleet. After evaluating the Boeing 747, McDonnell Douglas MD-11 and the Airbus A340, the carrier chose the latter as the replacement of the DC-10.

The Boeing 737-400 was added in 1991, and the first Airbus A340 in 1993. The same year, the carrier also received Avro RJ100s to fly domestic airports with limited infrastructure, replacing the Douglas DC-9. Six Boeing 737-800s joined in 1998. The fleet size remained nearly constant from 1995 to 2003. In 2004 and 2005, the airline ordered almost 60 aircraft from Airbus and Boeing. Avro RJ aircraft with high operating costs were removed from the fleet. From 2003 to 2008, the airline almost doubled its fleet size from 65 to 120 aircraft. In 2008, Turkish Airlines started leasing Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 Next Generation aircraft. The airline also leased three Boeing 777-300ER‘s the same year. In 2010, 40 narrow-body jets were ordered.

In 2013, the airline announced a record order for 117 Airbus aircraft, including jets from the new Airbus A320neo family. The next month, Turkish Airlines also ordered 60 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. Two years later, an additional 20 aircraft from Airbus A320neo family were ordered. During the winter of 2016, the carrier grounded 30 aircraft due to a downfall in traffic. In March 2018, Turkish Airlines finalized its order for 25 Boeing 787 and 25 Airbus A350 aircraft. In 2019, the airline announced that it was interested in the Airbus A220 and Embraer E190/E195. Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Turkish Airlines grounded over 100 aircraft in the winter of 2020. A few months later, the carrier cancelled an order for 40 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. Since 2021, the carrier is removing the Airbus A330 aircraft from its fleet, which are being replaced by the newer aircraft. Turkish Airlines announced its plans to order 600 new aircraft in 2023, though no firm order was placed.

Aircraft in the fleet of Turkish Airlines are named after districts, provinces, rivers and touristic places of Turkey, with the some leased planes having no name. Since 2010, the airline uses a predominantly white livery with blue lettering, a grey tulip stretching from the middle to the end of the aircraft fuselage and a red tail which includes the company logo inside a circle. Turkish Airlines also operates several Airbus aircraft which have a special livery, and as a member of Star Alliance, also aircraft with the alliance livery.

Fleet development[edit]

Early years and post-war period[edit]

Turkish Airlines started its operations on 20 May 1933 with a total of five aircraft: two Curtiss Kingbird, two Junkers F 13 and one Tupolev ANT-9.^[1] The Tupolev ANT-9, the largest plane, was gifted to the Turkey by the Soviet Union. The first flight of the airline was operated by one of the Curtiss Kingbirds.^[2] These aircraft were removed from the fleet in 1936 and were replaced by four de Havilland Dragon Rapide and four de Havilland Expresses. The fleet development was low in the early-1940s, and its size had remained the same until 1943, when the carrier added six de Havilland Dominies, the military version of the Dragon Rapide, to its fleet. Five Junkers Ju 52 joined a year later in 1944.

In late-1945, the airline bought 30 Douglas DC-3 and three Douglas C-47 aircraft. These aircraft were used during the Second World War by the United States of America and were located in Cairo, Egypt. Pan Am had assisted the airline in the purchase of these aircraft as well as the training of pilots. Many had faults, which led to their price being very low. The aircraft entered service in 1946 after each went through maintenance. The purchase increased the fleet size of the carrier to 52 aircraft,^[1] thereby making it the largest airline in the Middle East. The interior of these aircraft, which were configured to the needs of the war when bought, were refurbished…