Turkish Airlines’ passenger traffic hits 28.5 million in first half of year

ISTANBUL

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Turkish Airlines, Europe’s fourth-largest carrier, has announced it carried some 28.5 million passengers in the first six months of the year, an 8.5 percent increase over the same period of the previous year, in a written statement to the Public Disclosure Platform (KAP) on July 14.

Passenger numbers on domestic flights rose by 11.2 percent, while international routes saw an increase of 6.6 percent in the mentioned period.      

The load factor, which measures an airline’s capacity utilization, declined one percentage point to 77.8 percent, the statement said. 

By the end of June 2015, the number of Turkish Airlines destinations rose by 19 over the same month of the previous year, reaching 276, the company said. The number of domestic destinations increased from 43 to 48 and international destinations from 214 to 228, it added. 

The number of aircraft increased from 257 to 282 in June compared to the same month of 2014. The number of wide body aircraft increased from 50 to 65, narrow body aircraft from 198 to 207 and cargo aircraft from 9 to 10, according to the statement. 

Turkish Airlines was named the “Best Airline in Europe” for the fifth year in a row by Skytrax, which is recognized by the aviation industry for its global ranking system which tracks customer satisfaction of airlines service and performance around the world, this year.  

The awards, based on over 13 million surveys of worldwide airline customers from May 2014 to January 2015, evaluated traveler experience using key performance factors including check-in, arrivals, transfers, security and immigration. The carrier also received the distinction of having the “World’s Best Business Class Airline Lounge” and “World’s Best Business Class Lounge Dining.”