Turkish Airlines says it is aiming to expand its fleet to 800 aircraft by 2033 as part of its 100th anniversary strategy
Turkish Airlines, the national flag carrier of Türkiye, says it carried a total of 22.1 million passengers in the second quarter of 2024, adding that it continued growing despite ongoing global geopolitical tensions, bottlenecks in aircraft production and engine problems.
Citing data published by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Turkish Airlines says in a press statement that it has already exceeded 2019 passenger capacity by 38 pc, even while global passenger capacity in the same period has just about reached pre-pandemic levels.
The statement adds that in the April-June 2024 period, Turkish Airlines’ total revenues rose by 10 pc year-on-year to USD 5.7 billion.
Accounting for 81 pc of the total, passenger revenues increased to USD 4.6 billion driven by contribution from the Far East region, and cargo revenues recorded 48 pc growth on an annualised basis, reaching USD 885 million.
It says that due to the competitive pressure on passenger unit revenues and the adverse effects of global inflation on costs, profit from main operations decreased by 26 pc to USD 591 million.
The airline says that through its operations at Europe’s largest air cargo facility, Smartist, its Turkish Cargo arm has captured a significant share of the accelerated e-commerce growth in the second quarter of this year.
The airline adds that Smartist provided a major alternative for shippers who did not want to be affected by the disruptions in the Suez Canal.
It says that Turkish Cargo increased the amount of cargo carried in the first six months of 2024 by 32 pc annually as a result and became the third-largest air cargo carrier in the world, as per IATA figures.
Turkish Airlines says it is aiming to expand its fleet to 800 aircraft by 2033 as part of its 100th anniversary strategy and, in alignment, has increased its number of aircraft by 9 pc in the first half of the year to 458 despite bottlenecks in the aircraft production.