THY targets double-digit growth this year, says executive

ISTANBUL

Turkish Airlines (THY) aims to achieve double-digit growth rates this year and in 2023, the chairman of the company’s board and the executive committee has said.

“We are working hard to meet strong demand for domestic and international flights,” Ahmet Bolat told reporters on a flight that marked the launch of the flag carrier’s flights to Seattle.

The Seattle route is Turkish Airlines’ 12th destination in the U.S.

The carrier also wants to add other U.S. destinations, such as Detroit, Denver and Orlando, as well as new routes in Asia, to its network, Bolat said.

There is strong demand for the Seattle flights, which are presently being scheduled four times a week, he added.

“We want to hold daily flights [to Seattle], but the main reason we cannot increase the frequency on that route for the time being is that we do not have wide-body airplanes. Recently, we have bought six Airbus A350s, and we are continuing to add more wide-body jets to our fleet,” he said.

Turkish Airlines currently flies to 340 destinations in 129 countries with a fleet of 377 airplanes, Bolat said, noting that Türkiye and the world will need more pilots in the next three years.

“We have 400 foreign pilots, and we are looking for more pilots,” he added, noting that the carrier also trains its own pilots.

Bolat also underlined that Turkish Airlines is an important service exporter. “Our service exports amounted to $8 billion, but this year it may increase to $13 billion.”

Turkish Airlines carried more than 24 million passengers, including 9.2 million domestic and 14.8 million international travelers in January-May this year. The passenger load factor was 73.5 percent.

The company’s revenues increased by 10.2 percent from the first quarter of 2019 to $3.05 billion in January-March 2022, with cargo revenues rising 141 percent to $980 million.

The carrier posted a net income of $161 million in the first quarter, while its profit from main operations was $163 million.