THY makes deal with airbus

The Turkish Airlines (THY) signed a deal for the purchase of 117 planes from French aircraft manufacturer Airbus on Wednesday in a ceremony in Istanbul which was attended by Transportation, Maritime and Communication Minister Binali Yildirim, Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek, Airbus CEO Fabrice Bregier, THY Chairman Hamdi Topcu and THY CEO Temel Kotil. Speaking at the signing ceremony, Yildirim urged Airbus to make an agreement with Turkey on the production of planes in the country. "Airbus has small operations in Izmir and Tuzla, but such small operations do not measure up to prestige and size of the company. Let's make the operations bigger and produce planes in Turkey. The longer the operation is delayed, the more Airbus will lose out, but Turkey will not as many international companies compete to take part in Turkey's projects. The aviation sector has a considerable growth potential in the region and we support a more comprehensive agreement." For his part, Bregier said that THY has opened a new page with the agreement. Reiterating that THY had 65 planes ten years ago, Bregier said, "Now the target is to reach to 375 by 2020. We are not only signing a deal here but also being part of the ambitious company vision. The carrier already ranks top with its quality of services, efficiency and safety."