Turkish Air To Buy 10 Airbus, 7 Boeing Planes

THY Turkish Airlines, Turkey's flag carrier, said on Friday it will buy 10 planes from Airbus and seven from Boeing as part of its fleet-expansion plan, aimed at making it a global airline.

The purchases are the first under a plan, announced in October 2008, worth USD$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 are options. The Boeing aircraft are 777-300ER 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 said.

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, ordered 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 777-300ER from September for 25 months from Delaware Aircraft Lease.

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