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.
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.
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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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