At the Dubai Airshow, Boeing has said the Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines joint venture operation SunExpress is converting its options for 10 Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft to firm commitments.
"We have a long-standing, strong and trustful relationship with Boeing and thus we decided to turn our option into an order. We stand behind our strategic decision to phase the 737 MAX into our fleet for all of its economic and ecological advantages, mid- and long-term," says Jens Bischof, CEO of SunExpress. "We have full confidence that Boeing will deliver us a safe, reliable, and efficient aircraft. However, it goes without saying that this requires the undisputed airworthiness of the model, granted by all relevant authorities. Our utmost priority at SunExpress is and has always been safety."
The airline, which specializes in offering direct connections between Europe, Turkey and popular holiday destinations, has achieved significant growth in recent years as it steadily expanded its fleet of mainly Boeing 737 aeroplanes. Last year, SunExpress' passenger count climbed to nearly 10 million across roughly 100 destinations.
Whilst the two parties have agreed on the list price for the deal would be in the region of $1.2 billion, they would not be drawn on the speculation that the aircraft are being sold at below cost price, partly in compensation to the airline and partly for Boeing to find some market traction for the troubled and still grounded jet. Stan Deal, president & CEO of Boeing Commercial Aeroplanes said, "We regret the impact the MAX grounding has had on SunExpress and their passengers. The Boeing team is working hard to safely return the aeroplane to service and providing the capacity for SunExpress to continue serving as the backbone of air travel in the Turkish tourism industry."
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