Turkish aerospace companies come together to launch cabin interiors business

The company plans to produce seat parts, galleys and crew rest areas as the first stage of developing a whole cabin completions business.

TAI is already involved in commercial manufacturing with parts for Boeing commercial aircraft but is better known for its design and development work on projects with partners in the military field such as Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Airbus, with which it is a risk-sharing partner on the A400M.

The new business is named Turkish Cabin Interior Systems and will be 49% owned by TAI with 30% ownership from the Airline and the remainder by Turkish Technik, with the MRO taking responsibility for the production and development of the skills base at the TAI facility in Ankara.

Speaking at the official launch Turkish Airlines chairman Hamdi Topcu said "We would like to prove how aircraft cabin interior products can be produced at high quality under a 100%-Turkish brand. Turkey will be a maintenance, repair and manufacturing hub that should be taken seriously in the near future."

There has been speculation for some time that Turkey is considering developing its own airliner in the future, making use of the skills and workforce it has developed as a first-tier and risk sharing supplier.

According to online airline data and information service ATI, this could be as soon as 2023 which would coincide with the Turkish republic's centenary anniversary.

A further joint venture into the manufacture if seats and other components is likely to be announced within the next few months.

For TAI, the joint venture will make it more effective in the civil sector while for Turkish Airlines it ties in with the strategy of targeted   partnerships. Turkish already has deals covering fuelling, ground services catering and operations.

TAI will manage the marketing element of the new venture from its five million square metre facility in the Turkish capital.

“We believe that the new emerging joint venture will enhance our current cooperation and provide a solid ground for further and broad areas of cooperation with Turkish Airlines family. Possessing the understanding of quality and mentality of serving without making any concessions, our joint venture company that will operate in the area of designing and manufacturing Cabin Interior Systems will be at the disposal of both national and international customers worldwide on a large scale of products.” said TAI chairman Yalcin Kaya, (pictured aboive)