Celebrating the historic order for 150 A321neo and 80 A350 Household plane positioned in December 2023, Türkiye’s flag provider Turkish Airways, Airbus and Rolls-Royce got here collectively at Turkish Airways’ headquarters in Istanbul. Current had been the Turkish Minister of Commerce Mr. Prof. Ömer Bolat, Minister of Business and Expertise Mr. Mehmet Fatih Kacır, Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Mr. Abdulkadir Uraloğlu, and Deputy Minister of Nationwide Defence Mr. Bilal Durdalı, representatives of high Turkish aerospace firms in addition to the British Consul Normal, and undersecretaries of France and Spain.
The celebration additionally marked the revealing of the Strategic Türkiye Enhanced Programme (STEP), which was created by Airbus, Turkish Airways and aerospace firms in Türkiye to additional develop the Turkish aerospace trade in step with Turkish Airways’ long-term strategic progress plan and create exponential financial worth over the subsequent 15 years.
The latest plane order place Turkish Airways because the world’s largest operator of Rolls-Royce’s Trent XWB engine. According to the partnership with Rolls-Royce, the producer is exploring the implementation of quite a lot of industrial initiatives in Türkiye, together with the potential institution of a aggressive Upkeep, Restore and Overhaul (MRO) functionality and additional provide chain sourcing.
Commenting on the STEP and the partnership with Rolls-Royce Turkish Airways Chairman of the Board and the Govt Committee, Prof. Ahmet Bolat said: “We’re glad concerning the launch of the Strategic Türkiye Enhanced Programme with Airbus, which is a testomony to our deepening collaboration with the plane producer. Given the fast developments in know-how, as we speak marks the graduation of our efforts to assist domesticate Turkish aviation firms into potential suppliers, aligning intently with Airbus’ strategic aims and their newly recognized enterprise domains.
We’re additionally delighted to additional strengthen our relationship with Rolls-Royce. By becoming a member of forces with the manufacturing giants, we underscore our dedication to each excellence and the additional improvement of Türkiye’s aerospace capabilities. With the numerous cooperation between three invaluable firms, Turkish Airways will proceed to leverage superior applied sciences and collaborative methods to boost our operational efficiencies and contribute to persevering with our sustainable progress whereas reinforcing our main function on the worldwide aviation stage.”
Guillaume Faury, Airbus CEO mentioned: “We thank Turkish Airways for his or her belief and we’re honoured to each assist their progress as one of many world‘s elite airways and develop our partnership with Türkiye by means of the brand new STEP programme we’re unveiling as we speak. The programme will present the framework for Airbus to additional broaden its collaboration with Türkiye and assist Turkish Airways’ progress ambitions, with a specific give attention to provide chain improvement, expertise and sustainability.”
Tufan Erginbilgiç, Rolls-Royce CEO mentioned: “Türkiye is a strategically necessary marketplace for Rolls-Royce throughout our enterprise. We’re more than happy with the boldness that Turkish Airways has positioned in our Trent XWB engines. We now look ahead to working with Turkish Airways and our companions to make use of our in depth aerospace engineering expertise to learn the Turkish economic system, develop the nation’s expertise base and increase its function within the power transition. I’m personally very energised by the strengthening relationship between our nice firm, Turkish Airways and the Republic of Türkiye.”
Türkiye has been an integral a part of Airbus’ provide chain for over 20 years, and as we speak each Airbus business plane from the A220 to the A350 contains Turkish provided components. Immediately and not directly over 3,500 Turkish aeronautical jobs are supported by Airbus. On the finish of 2023, the accrued complete quantity invested by Airbus in Türkiye has exceeded US$4 billion. As well as, the 20-year collaboration has established a wealth of experience, technological developments and a extremely expert workforce in Türkiye’s aerospace sector.
These initiatives purpose to additional develop the Turkish aerospace trade in accordance with Turkish Airways progress ambition in addition to Türkiye’s purpose to develop a sturdy aerospace trade. Supported with the acquisition of A321neo and A350 plane which aligns with Turkish Airways’ ongoing dedication to increase its attain and improve service capabilities throughout its in depth flight community, the partnership additionally underscores all three companions’ give attention to sustainability and technological development. This forward-thinking method is designed to foster innovation, create high-skilled jobs, and elevate Türkiye as a key participant within the aerospace sector.
