Rolls-Royce and Turkish Airlines celebrate ongoing strategic partnership
Rolls-Royce and Turkish Airlines on April 29, celebrated their ongoing cooperation to support and grow Türkiye’s position in the global aerospace industry.
Tufan Erginbilgic, CEO of Rolls-Royce, and Prof. Ahmet Bolat, Chairman of the Board and the Executive Committee of Turkish Airlines signed a joint statement at a ceremony held at the Turkish Airlines headquarters in Istanbul. In attendance were the Ministers of Industry & Technology, Trade, Transport & Infrastructure, and the Deputy Minister of National Defence. Also present were the representatives of top Turkish Aerospace companies as well as the British Consul General, and undersecretaries of France and Spain. They were joined by Guillaume Faury CEO Airbus, Christian Scherer, Airbus commercial CEO and Rob Watson, President Civil Aerospace, Rolls-Royce.
The joint statement follows the historic Turkish Airlines order for 80 Airbus A350 aircraft. That deal makes Turkish Airlines the world’s largest operator of the Trent XWB, which powers the Airbus A350, and included an order for 120 Trent XWB-84 engines and 40 Trent XWB-97 engines, excluding options and spares.
As part of Rolls-Royce’s long-term strategy and commitment to Türkiye, the company is exploring the implementation of a number of industrial initiatives. These include the potential development of a competitive Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) capability and further supply chain sourcing. Rolls-Royce estimates that these projects could have a significant positive impact on the Turkish economy over the coming years.
Rolls-Royce already has well-established relationships with the Turkish aerospace supply chain. Following the agreement, Rolls-Royce will work in partnership with multiple suppliers to investigate expanding its sourcing activities.
Tufan Erginbilgic, CEO, Rolls-Royce, said: “Türkiye is a strategically important market for Rolls-Royce across our business. We are very pleased with the confidence that Turkish Airlines has placed in our Trent XWB engines. We now look forward to working with Turkish Airlines and our partners to use our extensive aerospace engineering experience to benefit the Turkish economy, grow the country’s skills base and expand its role in the energy transition. I am personally very energised by the strengthening relationship between our great company, Turkish Airlines and the Republic of Türkiye.”
Turkish Airlines Chairman of the Board and the Executive Committee, Prof. Ahmet Bolat added: “Over the past 15 years, Rolls-Royce has been a significant partner for Turkish Airlines. With this latest acquisition, we are poised to become the largest operator of XWB engines. This acquisition is a key milestone in our partnership, offering a mutually beneficial strategy for Rolls-Royce and Türkiye. As part of this strategy, we have agreed to establish a ‘Steering Committee.’ Through this committee, designated projects will be executed based on their performance, competitiveness, and quality criteria.
“The remarkable growth of the Turkish aviation industry in the last two decades positions this committee to elevate the ecosystem to new heights and provide greater value-added contributions to not only Türkiye but also the global aviation industry. Through this initiative, we aim to create a sustainable and mutually beneficial environment for both the Turkish aviation industry and Rolls-Royce.”
