Budget carrier Pegasus Airlines turned its back on Boeing and placed its first order for Airbus jetliners on Tuesday in a $7.5 billion deal hailed as Turkey’s largest single plane order.
The order for at least 75 A320neo aircraft represents a breakthrough for the European jetmaker.
Pegasus currently operates aircraft built by Airbus’s arch-rival Boeing.
Confirming a Reuters report, Pegasus Chairman Ali Sabanci said he had initially considered buying 40 aircraft, but increased this to keep up with Turkey’s aviation growth .
“This … is the largest (order) in the history of Turkish civil aviation,” Sabanci told politicians and VIPs in the Istanbul carrier’s training centre.
The deal includes a firm order for 75 Airbus aircraft, including 58 fuel-saving A320neo aircraft and 17 A321neo jets. Those aircraft have a combined list price of $7.5 billion.
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It also includes options for a further 25 aircraft. If all options are exercised, the deal’s value for all 100 aircraft could rise to $9.9 billion, based on official Airbus prices.
In practice, airlines win significant discounts for large orders.
Founded in 1990, Pegasus has grown its fleet from just two aircraft to more than 40 mostly Boeing BA.N 737-800s over the past two decades and serves 62 destinations in 26 countries.
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