CDB Aviation, a wholly-owned Irish subsidiary of China Development Bank Financial Leasing, signed lease agreements for a series of six Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft for Turkish Airlines, the flag carrier of Türkiye.

All six aircraft are part of CDB Aviation’s existing orderbook with Boeing. They will be powered by CFM International Leap-1B engines and built with a configuration specific to AnadolouJet, which is a subsidiary of Turkish Airlines. Deliveries are set to take place in 2024 and 2025.

“We’re delighted to have signed these new lease agreements with our valued customer, Turkish Airlines, for the financing of the upcoming six 737 MAX aircraft deliveries from our orderbook,” Jie Chen, CEO of CDB Aviation, said. “Turkish has become a leader among airlines in undertaking sustainability-focused initiatives to modernize every stage of their flight and ground operations. These highly efficient aircraft will bring Turkish closer to achieving their ambitious sustainability goals by lessening the environmental footprint of their mainline and subsidiary carrier’s flight operations.”

“We are proud to collaborate with partners like CDB Aviation in our pursuit of excellence,” Levent Konukcu, chief investment and technology officer at Turkish Airlines said. “Adding these aircraft to the AnadoluJet fleet will contribute significantly to our goals and allow us to present remarkable travel experiences to our passengers.”

With the addition of the six MAX aircraft, CDB Aviation will have nine aircraft on lease to Turkish Airlines including one 737-800, one 777-300ER and one A320neo. In 2022, CDB Aviation delivered Turkish Airlines’ first A320neo.

“As you would expect for a lessor with a sizable orderbook, CDB Aviation is continually in discussions with existing and prospective customers on how we can leverage our orderbook and price-competitive leasing products to help the airlines modernize their fleets with new technology aircraft and meet long-term business growth objectives,” Chen said.