Turkish Airlines fleet

Since 2010, the airline has used a predominantly white livery with blue lettering, a grey tulip stretching from the middle to the end of the aircraft fuselage and a red tail which includes the company logo inside a circle.

In October 1932, the Turkish state ordered two Kingbird D-2 aircraft from Curtiss-Wright for usage on domestic postal services and possibly passenger flights in the future.

Postal flights from Istanbul to Ankara via Eskişehir started in February; passenger services commenced later in April as a trial by the Turkish Aeroplane Society (TTaC).

[1][3] The two Junkers F 13s were also removed and handed over to TTaC due to their single-engined characteristics not being suitable for safe and comfortable passenger flights.

[4] Over time, the relationship between the Turkish government and Curtiss-Wright worsened as the manufacturer complained of payment issues and the long bureaucratic processes in Turkey.

Despite changes in key people on the Turkish side, the relations were never fully restored, and the airline started to search for European manufacturers instead.

[8] As Turkey stayed neutral until the very end of World War II, the state was interested in passenger aircraft from both sides throughout the early 1940s.

[18] The interior of these aircraft, which were configured to the needs of the war when bought, were refurbished between 1946 and 1950 at the Turkish Aeronautical Association maintenance centre in Etimesgut Air Base.

[28] In 1958, the airline considered to order the Fokker F27 Friendship or its American version, the Fairchild F-27, as the type was deemed to be efficient in short haul flights as well as suitable for Anatolian airports with poor infrastructure.

Four types were initially considered for evaluation: BAC One-Eleven, Hawker Siddeley Trident, McDonnell Douglas DC-9 and Sud Aviation Caravelle VI.

[44] The Fokker F28s were bought for regional flights to airports with a short runway that were unable to accommodate the larger jets operated by the airline.

[3] In 1987, the Douglas DC-10, Fokker F28, as well as two Boeing 707 aircraft were transferred to the newly formed subsidiary Boğaziçi Hava Taşımacılığı (BHT) to standardize the fleet of Turkish Airlines.

[54] Turgut Özal, the 8th President of Turkey, wanted the airline to have the Boeing 747-400, and the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure sent an official letter asking for the type to be evaluated.

[72] The Avro RJs were planned to be removed in late 2003 specifically due to their low capacity and high operating costs.

A camel was slaughtered at the Turkish Technic maintenance hangar in Atatürk Airport during the farewell ceremony to celebrate the removal of the type.

[93] During the winter period following the 2016 Turkish coup attempt, the airline saw a heavy downfall in passenger numbers, which caused it to ground 30 aircraft.

[103] On 12 March 2019, following the request of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, Turkish Airlines grounded all of its 12 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft.

[104] Turkish Airlines also did not take delivery of a further 12 737 MAX aircraft due to the global grounding, causing the planes to be stored at the Boeing Field.

[108] In August 2019, Turkish Airlines chairman İlker Aycı stated that the carrier was looking into receiving its orders of long-haul aircraft, such as the Airbus A350-900, earlier than planned.

[110] Due to the reduction in air traffic caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, chairman İlker Aycı told Hürriyet on 27 May 2020 that the airline might delay the deliveries of new wide-body aircraft.

[119] In May 2022, the carrier took delivery of an Airbus A350 that was originally destined for Aeroflot, which did not go through due to sanctions placed on the airline as the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

[125] In May, chairman Ahmet Bolat revealed that the airline was closing in on ordering 600 new aircraft from both Boeing and Airbus, which would be the largest ever if confirmed.

[126] The order was supposed to be confirmed during the International Air Transport Association annual meeting held in Istanbul in June, but was delayed by two months due to the 2023 Turkish general election.

[134] In March 2024, AnadoluJet completed its rebranding into AJet and started operating separately from Turkish Airlines under its own AOC.

[177] An Airbus A330-200 with registration TC-JNC was renamed in November 2015 after the Japanese city of Kushimoto, whose residents helped the survivors of the sinking Ottoman frigate Ertuğrul.

[182][e] The airline started an online survey to name its first Boeing 787 on 26 June 2019, with the options being Perga, Assos, Göbeklitepe and Zeugma.

[3] From 1958 onwards, with the arrival of new Vickers Viscount turboprop aircraft, the airline applied a "pyjama"-styled livery with five red stripes.

The design of Mesut Manioğlu won the competition and was included on the aircraft in 1961, and has remained on the livery ever since with a minor alteration in 1986 to simplify the logo.

[189] If tilted in three specific angles, the logo resembles the letters "T", "H" and "Y", which are the initials of "Türk Hava Yolları", the name of the airline in Turkish.

[187] In mid 2005, the livery was updated to include a grey "Airlines" text under the blue "Turkish" and a tulip in the same colour was added for the first time on the fuselage running from the rear of the wing to the tail, the latter of which according to CEO Temel Kotil is an important symbol for the airline, with the aim of giving aircraft and employees a "more contemporary image".