High-Volume Orders Coming In for Boeing
Boeing Co. has scored another significant high-volume order new commercial aircraft, something that has happened with some frequency during 2025 despite ongoing complications in its production processes. Longtime customer Turkish Airlines ordered 35 of the 787-9 Dreamliners, 15 787 Dreamliners, and took options for up to 25 more of the twin-engine wide-body jets.
The manufacturer continues to operate with oversight by FAA monitors, though there’s evidence that scrutiny may be lessening.
The 787 Dreamliner is a long-range aircraft designed for fuel-efficiency and passenger comfort. It’s offered in three configurations, for up to 330 passengers on the largest variant, the not-yet-in-service 787-10.
The OEM has recorded 258 net orders for 787 aircraft during 2025, and overall it has 991 orders for 787s yet-to-be-delivered.
Turkish Airlines also confirmed its intent to acquire up to 150 more 737 MAX narrow-body aircraft. It . For the current year, Boeing records 337 net orders for the 737 MAX, and an order backlog of 4,826 aircraft.
Neither Boeing nor Turkish indicated the value of the new commitment – but without considering the purchase options the 50 firm orders for 787 Dreamliners have an estimated value of almost $9.5 billion.
As with most high-volume aircraft orders, the buyer’s objective in this case is fleet modernization and expansion. "The addition of these advanced Boeing aircraft to our fleet will not only enhance our operational capabilities but also become a significant element supporting Turkish Airlines' 2033 Vision of expanding our fleet to 800 aircraft," stated chairman Prof. Ahmet Bolat.
The airline currently has more than 200 Boeing aircraft in its fleet, including 24 787-9s.
Last month Canadian carrier WestJet booked an order with Boeing estimated at more than $10 billion, for a total of 67 737 MAX and 787 Dreamliners; Uzbekistan Airways committed to acquire up to 22 787s in an order valued at $8.5 billion.
The latter order, along with a $50-billion order from Korea Air and a $7-billion order from Gulf Air received some encouragement from the U.S. Dept. of Commerce, which in those cases issued its own statements celebrating the contribution to the U.S. export economy. The government also sometimes extends its reporting on these orders to include GE Aerospace, the major supplier of turbofan engines for Boeing commercial aircraft.
And as in those other cases, the Turkish Airlines announcement included a note on the 123,000 domestic jobs that will be supported by the manufacturing of the 787s.
President Trump preceded Boeing’s announcement with a social media post announcing, "many Trade and Military Deals with the President (Recep Erdogan, of Turkey), including the large-scale purchase of Boeing aircraft, a major F-16 Deal, and a continuation of the F-35 talks, which we expect to conclude positively."
Trump and Erdogan met at the White House September 25. There has been no confirmation from Lockheed Martin or any other source about fighter jet sales to Turkey. In 2019, the U.S. suspended F-35 sales to Turkey and dismissed it as a program partner because the country committed to install the Russian-built S-400 air defense system – which U.S. defense strategists determined make F-35 technology insecure or vulnerable.