Turkish Airlines aiming to buy 600 aircraft

To renew and expand its fleet, Turkish Airlines is aiming to buy around 600 more aircraft, the chairman of the flag carrier said Monday.

Turkish Airlines plans to purchase 400 narrow body aircraft and 200 wide body aircraft, as well as 25-30 units of 777x or 350x, Ahmet Bolat said at the International Air Transport Association's (IATA) annual general meeting in Istanbul.

With the latest additions, the airline's fleet size will jump to 813 from the current 435, he said.

Touching on the carrier's financial performance, he said the firm's revenue was up by 42.7% in the first quarter on a yearly basis, and net profit rose by 45%.

"We're going to carry more than 86 million passengers, total revenue (for this year) will be more than $19 billion," he said.

He said the carrier is targeting to become one of the top three airlines in the world.

Turkish Airlines will open routes to Detroit this November and the number of countries where it flies to will reach 130, with Australia adding to its list of destinations soon.