Boeing is close to finalising a delayed deal for 150 737 MAX jets with Turkish Airlines, after the carrier threatened to walk away over maintenance terms linked to CFM International engines. The agreement could be signed next week, and would restore a key narrowbody order that forms part of a broader 225-aircraft package tied to talks following a meeting between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and US President Donald Trump last year.
The order had been held up by disagreement over engine maintenance and related industrial support, a sensitive issue for airlines weighing long-term operating costs as well as purchase price. Turkish Airlines had previously considered switching the 150 MAX jets to Airbus if the CFM talks failed to progress.
CFM is jointly owned by GE Aerospace and Safran. Boeing and CFM declined to comment, while the negotiations were described by four people familiar with the matter. The revived deal keeps the Boeing order on track at a time when fleet renewal plans and maintenance economics remain central to aircraft-buying decisions.