SunExpress, the Lufthansa-Turkish Airlines joint venture, has placed a firm order for 40 Boeing 737s, split between the -800 and -8 Max variants.

The carrier has signed for 25 of the -800s and 15 of the -8 Max aircraft, taking options for an additional 10 of the latter.

The deal has a potential list-price value of $4.7 billion. Deliveries will begin in 2015 and run through 2021.

Paul Schwaiger, the airline’s chief executive, says this is the “first time in SunExpress’s 25-year history we are buying such a big-size aircraft fleet. This will shape our future fleet.”

Haci Say, deputy managing director of SunExpress, says: “At the moment, we are operating 52 737-800s and 10 737-700s. But SunExpress owns only six 737s. With Boeing, we have a 24-year co-operation. We got the best offer from Boeing.”

Source: Cirium Dashboard