On the second day of the 2019 Dubai Airshow, Boeing and SunExpress announced the conversion of an option for 10 Boeing 737 MAX 8 jets into a firm order.
At the Dubai Airshow Monday, Boeing and SunExpress announced a new order for 10 Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft, with a list price value of $1.2B. The airline is growing their leisure market position and renewing their fleet, with today’s order bringing their total MAX commitments to 42. The order is an important step in re-establishing trust in the Boeing 737 MAX family of aircraft. In Monday’s announcement, SunExpress CEO, Jens Bischof said,
“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 vision to phase the 737 MAX into our fleet for all of its economic and ecological advantages, mid- and long-term. 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.”
SunExpress offers non-stop service between Europe and Turkey, including popular destinations on the Mediterranean, the Black Sea, North Africa and the Red Sea coasts. The joint venture between Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines serves 90 destinations in 30 countries with a fleet of 83 aircraft, serving nearly 10M passengers last year. Also commenting on today’s announcement, Boeing President and CEO – Commercial Airplanes, Stan Deal stated,
“We are honored and humbled by the trust that SunExpress has placed in our team at Boeing. They have been a wonderful partner over the years, demonstrating every day the efficiency and reliability of the Boeing 737 across their growing network. We regret the impact the MAX grounding has had on SunExpress and their passengers. The Boeing team is working hard to safely return the airplane to service and providing capacity for SunExpress to continue serving as the backbone of air travel in the Turkish tourism industry.”
The Boeing 737 MAX family of aircraft can accommodate between 130 to 230 passengers on routes with a range of up to 3,850 nautical miles (7,130 kilometers). The aircraft offers a 14% fuel savings over the most efficient single-aisle aircraft flying today. The aircraft features advanced technology winglets and CFM International LEAP-1B engines.
Source: Boeing