ISTANBUL- The Flag carrier of Turkey, Turkish Airlines (TK) anticipates that 40 to 45 of its Airbus narrowbodies will be grounded this year and into 2025 due to newly required inspections of the jets’ Pratt & Whitney (P&W) PW1100G geared turbofan (GTF) engines.
As of the end of March, the carrier and its low-cost unit AJet had a fleet of 66 Airbus A320neo family jets.
Turkish Airlines Grounds Airbus Engine Issues
During a first-quarter earnings call on May 23, Turkish Airlines’ Chief Financial Officer Murat Seker stated that the airline’s expectations regarding the scope of the issue have been evolving based on the latest information from the engine manufacturer.
“Currently, we have around 20-25 aircraft grounded,” Seker says. “Our current projection is that this number will rise to the 40s by the end of this year and remain at that level for the rest of 2024 and part of 2025. We expect around 40-45 aircraft to be grounded.”
Seker also outlined steps the carrier has taken to mitigate the lost capacity. “Last year and this year, we added about 15-20 narrowbody aircraft—some of these contracts are still being negotiated—to compensate for this capacity loss,” he says.
Last year, P&W disclosed it was recalling thousands of GTFs, citing potential early failure of components due to defects introduced during a manufacturing process involving powder metal.
They have indicated that an average of 350 jets will be grounded at any given time between 2024 and 2026 as a result.
In Talks with Boeing
Seker also mentioned that the airline is still in negotiations for the planned Boeing portion of a major long-term fleet renewal and expansion plan.
Turkish Airlines initially aimed to finalize an order for 400 narrowbodies and 200 widebodies with Airbus and Boeing by mid-2023. Although both orders were delayed, Turkish Airlines announced commitments for 345 Airbus jets in December.
“We continue our close communication with Boeing regarding this order,” Seker says. “We have not been able to finalize it yet. The same issues are still there. It is not just a negotiation between Turkish Airlines and Boeing; it also involves the engine manufacturers. It’s a combined effort.”
“We are making progress and continue to understand each other’s needs and timing, especially regarding when we can receive the deliveries and how they align with our strategic development goals,” Seker adds.
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