A Huge A220 Or E2 Order Is Coming

Turkish Airlines is getting closer to acquiring regional jets, with Chairman Murat Şeker’s recent talks underway with Airbus and Embraer over aircraft supply.

At a Q1 investor call, Şeker said that the carrier has been studying the products, and now finally sees the merits of ordering these planes for deployment towards underserved routes, having already weighed up key concerns such as engines and more.

For the moment, no final decision has been made; however, this has been a long-time deal in the making, as the business attempts to cover all angles before making its final decision and committing to any kind of agreement.

First reported several years ago, across the last handful now, with a view of having 1,000 planes by 2036, Turkish Airlines has been finding ways to reshape how it offers passenger service, and especially meeting what will be growing demand for secondary markets with an effective platform that makes these tier-2 cities viable year-round and not just seasonally, with razor-thin margins.

A Regional Jet Can Fill Gaps In The Network

Turkish Airlines simply wants an aircraft that seats fewer passengers than those in its A320neo family platform and is deployed on thinner routes, where jets like the A321 are especially overkill and harm the business more by operating there.

As a result, the A220-300 with a 3,450nm range, or the E195-E2 with a 2,600nm range, have effectively been pitted against each other as the ideal options for tier-2 city access without the costs associated not just with widebody jets that cannot sustain the demand, but even with larger single-aisle planes.

With Turkish Airlines wanting to reshape how travel is conducted, not just across its home country but the world, creating a business for the long-term, like what Gulf carriers have done, it’s not just international flying that’ll be important, but feeding more regional markets to Istanbul for onward travel and thus filling network holes where growth is present.

What An A220 or E2 Means For Passengers

While Turkish Airlines makes decisions based on several operational and bottom-line factors, aircraft like the A220 or E2 will be deployed to benefit customers, making it possible, all of a sudden, for new nonstop flights to smaller cities with higher frequencies.

Whether for leisure or business, it will improve access to heritage-listed cities and ensure Istanbul has direct links to destinations year-round, more than once a week, on a platform that finally makes these services viable without hurting the bottom line in an era of soaring industry costs.

A fleet mix that balances widebodies, single-aisles, and even regional offerings such as the A220 and E2 is important for any airline hoping to reach 155 destinations and, especially, to accelerate growth from more regional markets that feed into hubs, then improve long-haul options.

Ultimately, an aircraft like the two being touted by Airbus and Embraer as part of ongoing studies means that the comprehensive new era of Turkish Airlines being actioned will ensure wins not just for a minority of guests, but for a broader audience, whether across long-haul or short-haul options.