THY targets 2 million passengers in US market

ISTANBUL

Turkish Airlines aims to increase the number of passengers it carries from the U.S. to 2 million, says Ahmet Bolat, its chairman of the Board and the Executive Committee.

“In order to reach this target, art, gastronomy and health [tourism] organizations will be held,” Bolat said, noting that the passenger load rate on the U.S. routes is 85 percent currently.

New routes, including Denver, Detroit and Orlando, will be launched as soon as Turkish Airlines receives new planes, and the number of flight frequencies on the Seattle route will be increased to seven, Bolat added.

Turkish Airlines launched a promotion campaign in New York and recently in Miami. More such events will be held in Los Angeles and Chicago.

The carrier presently was flying to 23 destinations in the U.S., according to a presentation on Turkish Airlines’ website.

In the first nine months of this year, Turkish Airlines carried a total of 53.9 million passengers, including 34.5 million international travelers. Some 10 percent of the international passengers were from the Americas.

Bolat expects strong financial results in the fourth quarter of 2022.

Turkish Airlines reported a net profit of $2.25 billion for the January-September period, up nearly 400 percent from the same period of 2019. Its revenues increased by 37 percent to reach $13.65 billion.

The company’s net income in the third quarter was $1.5 billion.

The carrier is also ramping up efforts to attract high-income travelers and increase the number of flights to destinations in the Far East, including Malaysia and Indonesia, according to Bolat.

As part of the faith tourism activities and gastronomy, the provinces of Diyarbakır, Urfa and Mardin will be promoted, Bolat noted.

The carrier also targets to boost its service export revenues from a current $14 billion to $18 billion.