DUBAI, Nov 13 (Reuters) - SunExpress Airlines, a joint venture between Turkish Airlines and Lufthansa , placed the first order at the Dubai Airshow on Monday and used the spotlight to remind Boeing to deliver on time after a series of industry delays.

The budget carrier said it was placing a firm order for 45 narrow-body 737 MAX jets to be delivered between 2029 and 2035, with options or purchase rights for another 45.

The roughly $5 billion-deal at list prices unexpectedly kicked off the aerospace jamboree as the schedule for big-ticket purchases expected from regional heavyweights such as Emirates and Turkish Airlines slipped amid last-minute negotiations.

SunExpress Chief Executive Max Kownatzki presented a picture of the Frankfurt skyline to Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Stan Deal in a play on the term "skyline" used to describe the backlog of planned deliveries in Boeing's airplane factories.

Boeing and rival Airbus have been hit with chronic delays.

"This is a bit of a breach of protocol. We had agreed not to exchange presents," Kownatzki said.

"So we wanted to have a friendly token of thank you and also a gently and friendly reminder (to) make sure that the skyline is kept for the deliveries that we’re waiting for," he told Deal in a joint press conference.

As travel rebounds from the pandemic, low-cost tourist airlines rely especially on getting new planes delivered in time for the summer season each year.

"We can’t get enough capacity at the moment and hence we’re pushing for a timely delivery of the skyline as much as we can. The earlier the better," Kownatzki said.

"If you forget, just look at the picture and remember where we are in your Boeing deliveries timeline.”

Deal replied that industrial performance was a key priority.

"I am not going to shy away from predictability; that has been a challenge," Deal said. "We are stabilising our deliveries."

Emirates was meanwhile expected to place a keenly awaited wide-body order around 0930 GMT, with a planned Airbus order by Turkish Airlines slipping into Tuesday, delegates said. (Reporting by Alexander Cornwell, Tim Hepher, Pesha Magid, Editing by Louise Heavens and Miral Fahmy)