Boeing Company Undifferentiated or Other Model
Flight Crew Instrument; Flight Crew Multiengine; Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 143; Flight Crew Type 16425
Confusion; Communication Breakdown
ATC Issue All Types; Deviation - Track / Heading All Types; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Clearance; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
Air Traffic Control Provided Assistance; Flight Crew Became Reoriented
Chart Or Publication; Human Factors; Procedure
Company route from ZZZ to DAL; two very similar sounding waypoints exist in close proximity (KRKEE and TURKI). When requesting a short cut; ABQ Center cleared us to TURKI; we repeated clearance; verified and executed the change in the FMC. Subsequent Controller showed us slightly right of course and when we asked for clarification recognized a conflict existed.Change either waypoint name to eliminate the high probability that these two points will be confused.
We requested a shortcut further down the flight planned route. We thought the Controller said cleared direct TURKI; which we read back and then commenced the turn. Approximately 200 miles down the road; the next Controller asked if we had a navigational issue and they were showing us 25 degrees right of course. We confirmed that we were cleared direct to TURKI from the previous Controller; and we read back the phonetic spelling. He gave us another point and then direct TURKI. When we went back to review the flight plan we saw that the point KRKEE was 2 points prior to TURKI in our route; and we suspect that she may have meant KRKEE and not TURKI.It seems unusual to have two point so close together that sounds so familiar; but if we had read back the phonetic spelling that could have helped.
Flight crew reported two waypoints with similar names in close proximity.