Turkish Airlines Chief Cargo Officer, Turhan Özen, shared the airline’s extensive plans for the next decade at the Tiaca Executive Summit. The carrier aims to increase its current overall fleet from 429 to over 800 within 10 years. Özen detailed that the freighter fleet, currently at 24, would expand to 40 in the next “five years plus.”
The airline is navigating challenges in securing delivery slots at Airbus and Boeing, considering wet lease, dry lease, and ACMI options for immediate freighter needs. While the exact timeline and details of the order remain pending, Turkish Cargo envisions optimising its belly network with widebody freighters for the most profitable cargo types. The carrier anticipates cargo volumes to surge from 1.6 million tons in 2023 to 3.9 million tons in 2033, aligned with its broader fleet expansion strategy.
