Turkish budget carrier Pegasus Airlines has announced a huge order for 100 Boeing 737 Max-10 single-aisle aircraft and has taken out options on 100 more. The deal, announced on December 19, 2024, and reportedly worth around $36 billion at list prices, provides a much-needed boost for the planemaker and its 737 MAX range after what has been a torrid year for the US company.
The order will facilitate Istanbul-based Pegasus Airlines’ plan to grow and modernize its existing narrowbody fleet. The airline’s fleet currently comprises 118 aircraft and is made up of a mixture of both Airbus and Boeing types. According to ch-aviation, the low-cost carrier operates six Airbus A320s, 46 A320neos, 57 A321neos, and nine 737-800s. In addition to the new order for Boeing 737 MAX-10s, the carrier also has an outstanding order with Airbus for a further 52 A321neos.
The Boeing 737 MAX-10 is the largest variant in the current 737 MAX range. The type can accommodate up to 230 passengers in a single-class configuration and offers operators a range of up to 3,100 nautical miles (5,740km). This figure is slightly lower than that offered by the A321neo which has a range of 3,995 nautical miles (7,399km). It is thought that the incoming new aircraft will eventually be used to replace the carrier’s older A320-200 and Boeing 737-800 fleets which have an average age of 9.3 and 10.5 years respectively, as well as allow for future expansion.
According to a Boeing statement, the MAX-10 will “reduce fuel use and emissions by 20% compared to the airplanes it replaces. The airplane’s efficiency and flexibility will enable Pegasus Airlines to serve more passengers on more routes with the lowest cost per seat of any single-aisle airplane.”
“Boeing aircraft have been an integral part of our operations since Pegasus entered the aviation industry in 1990,” said Güliz Öztürk, CEO of Pegasus Airlines. “We are pleased to be expanding our fleet with the new Boeing 737-10 model aircraft. We continue to invest in our fleet in line with our growth targets in Türkiye and globally, and to expand our network by launching new routes.”
“Within the scope of our agreement with Boeing, we have ordered a total of 200 Boeing 737-10 aircraft. The first 100 aircraft are firm orders, and we will be evaluating converting the remaining 100 aircraft options into firm orders in the coming years, based on market conditions and the needs of our fleet,” Ozturk added.
“We have been a proud partner of Pegasus Airlines since their inception and we are excited to welcome them as the newest 737 MAX customer,” said Stephanie Pope, President and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes. “We appreciate their trust in the Boeing team and we look forward to delivering on the 737-10 and its promise of greater efficiency, versatility, and reliability.”
Boeing wins this time
The order makes an interesting shift back towards Boeing products for the carrier, which had been moving away from Boeing aircraft and favoring Airbus planes in recent years. Having commenced operations in April 1990 with a pair of Boeing 737-400s, the airline built up a sizeable fleet of 737 narrowbodies before switching its allegiance to Airbus in 2012 with an order for 114 new A320neo family airplanes.
“As low-cost carriers continue to boost regional growth and connectivity, the 737-10 will support Pegasus Airlines in reaching new markets across Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia and Africa. Boeing’s Commercial Market Outlook forecasts that European and Central Asian operators will take delivery of nearly 7,900 single-aisle airplanes over the next 20 years,” added Öztürk.
“When considered within the scope of Boeing’s National Aerospace Initiative launched with the Turkish government in 2017, our order will also open new doors and create production and export opportunities both for Turkish manufacturers and for the wider aviation industry,” he concluded.
The order, which had been kept firmly under the radar and took many in the industry by surprise, brings the total orders of the 737 MAX variant to more than 1,200 jets. Data from ch-aviation shows that up until the Pegasus order, the 737 MAX-10 variant had received 1,109 confirmed orders, with United Airlines, leading the charge with 165 commitments. European low-cost giant Ryanair has the second-largest order, with 150 planes, while other significant customers include Delta Air Lines and American Airlines. In total, 21 airlines have ordered the MAX 10, while there are orders for a further 115 aircraft for as yet undisclosed customers.
Pegasus currently flies as a low-cost carrier to 144 destinations in total, with 35 of these being domestic routes within Turkey and a further 109 across its international network of 53 countries. Pegasus operates connecting flights between Türkiye and Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia through its point-to-point and connecting flights through its hub airports in Turkey.