THY targets 15-17 percent growth next year

ISTANBUL

Turkish Airlines (THY) aims to achieve a growth of between 15 to 17 percent next year, says Ahmet Olmuştur, its chief marketing and sales officer at the flag carrier, adding that the carrier will continue to expand its fleet with new aircraft.

Turkish Airlines grew 69 percent in the U.S. This is unprecedented for an airline company, Olmuştur said, noting that the number of American tourists visiting Türkiye will increase from 1 million to 2 million.

“To boost the number of visitors from the U.S, new players from the health services, art and gastronomy industries will be added to the system. Transit business class passengers from the U.S. will be able to spend three nights at a hotel for free in Istanbul instead of two, while economy class passengers can stay two nights for free instead of one. This will offer new opportunities to the tourism sector,” he said.

The company is buying five A350-900 and seven B787-9 and five A321 Neo airplanes to expand its fleet, according to Olmuştur.

The number of airplanes in the fleet, including cargo planes, will reach 389 this year and further increase to 424 in 2023, he said.

“Depending on the delivery of planes and permissions, new routes will be launched to Palermo in Sicily, as well as Detroit and Denver in the U.S.”

The frequency of flights from the Far East will also be increased, according to Olmuştur.

In addition to the current midnight flights to Singapore, if permission is obtained, flights which will depart from Istanbul and arrive in the city in the afternoon, will be launched, Olmuştur said.

Turkish Airlines carried 53.9 million passengers in January-September this year and the passenger load factor was 79.7 percent.

The international passenger tally increased by 4.7 percent compared with the same period of 2019 to 34.55 million in the first nine months of 2022, while the company served 19.3 million domestic passengers.

Turkish Airlines increased the number of destinations it flew to from 316 two years ago to 390 and expanded its fleet from 344 to 389 airplanes.