Turkish airlines will need 480 more aircraft as traffic grows: Airbus

Airbus VP Chris Buckley stated Turkey's airlines will need to add 480 aircraft to their fleets over the next 18 years to accommodate the projected increases in the number of flights through the country (Hurriyet Daily News, 12-Apr-2011). The 480 aircraft would likely include at least eight A380s and would have a list price of around USD50.5 billion. Airbus anticipated that airline traffic to/from Turkey will triple in the next 18 years and has increased by 55% over the past two years. Domestic traffic has quadrupled in the past seven. Mr Buckley added that Istanbul's strategy to position itself as an international hub had worked well, increasing the number of transit passengers along with domestic and international passengers. Transit traffic has increased five-fold over the past five years, Mr Buckley stated. Turkish Airlines is a "huge part of this growth", he said. Airbus also stated plans to construct a third airport in Istanbul was a sensible plan and signals the increase in traffic.