cultural and health projects reach people in dozens of Turkish cities. “We are proud to partner with Turkey in strengthening the local aerospace industry, and we continually collaborate toward that goal,” Dunn said. “Growth of the Turkish aerospace industry is a win-win opportunity, meaning growth both for Turkey and for Boeing.” The nation’s commercial aviation market is dominated by Turkish Airlines, which has a history with Boeing that dates back 70 years, when the airline received its first DC-3 from Douglas Aircraft, a Boeing heritage company. In 2013, Turkish Airlines received its 100th direct delivery from Boeing, a 737-800. The carrier operates a large fleet of 777-300ERs (Extended Range) and 737s. The airline’s emphasis on customer service has earned it several Skytrax awards for Europe’s best airline and the world’s best airline in recent years. The carrier also was selected as Airline of the Year by Air Transport News in 2013. In the past three years alone, Turkish has ordered 20 Next-Generation 737s, 50 737 MAX jetliners and 20 777s. Additionally, the airline’s Turkish Technic subsidiary operates a world-class maintenance center for 737 airplanes. “Turkey is a fantastic tourist destination with dozens of cultural and historically significant sites across the nation,” said Chris Morgan, Commercial Airplanes Sales director for Turkey. “But it is also a very modern nation that has experienced significant growth over the past decade, and Turkish Airlines has been a beneficiary of this. We’re looking forward to continuing our support of Turkish Airlines’ plans for profitable growth at this important juncture in its history.” SunExpress, a joint venture of Turkish Airlines and Lufthansa, also has 737 MAX and Next-Generation 737s on order, and Boeing has developed a customer relationship with Pegasus Airlines. Boeing is the largest provider of commercial airplanes to Turkey. “Our intent is to remain there,” Allen said of being No. 1 in airplane deliveries to Turkey. But he added that the competition is “furiously trying” to change that. Turkey’s armed forces fly Boeing KC-135 aerial tankers and F-4 Phantom fighters, the latter built by heritage company McDonnell Douglas. Turkey also has Boeing’s Harpoon antiship missiles. This year marks the Turkish air force’s receipt of its fourth and final Peace Eagle, the Airborne Early Warning & Control (AEW&C) aircraft based on the 737 platform, said Mark Ellis, director of Airborne Surveillance, Command and Control. It features a multi-role electronically scanned array radar. Next year, Turkey is scheduled to receive its first CH-47F rotorcraft, with 10 more to follow in the coming years. Allen noted that military services offers an area for growth in Turkey. Boeing already is providing periodic depot-level maintenance for Turkey’s KC-135 tankers, which includes training Turkish air force personnel how to provide those services in the future. Boeing also works with Turkish Technic to perform depot-level maintenance of the 737 AEW&C Peace Eagle fleet. Those maintenance partnerships Photo: Boeing delivered the first of four Airborne Early Warning & Control aircraft, shown, to Turkey last year. Based on the Boeing 737-700 airplane, the aircraft provides advanced airborne surveillance and battle management capabilities and can simultaneously track airborne and maritime targets. BOEING 36 Boeing Frontie rs
Frontiers June 2015 Issue
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