Turkish Airlines to double fleet size in 10 years
ISTANBUL
Turkish Airlines aims to double the number of aircraft in its fleet in 10 years and to become one of top seven carriers in the world, Ahmet Bolat, the chairman of the board and the executive committee, has said.
The company currently operates a fleet of 440 jets, Bolat said, adding that its fleet will expand to have a total of 810 aircraft by 2033.
“Including its subsidiaries, AJet and SunExpress, it will have 950 airplanes,” the company executive told reporters, unveiling the flag carrier’s plans in the next 10 years.
Turkish Airlines also aims to increase the number of passengers it carries to 171 million, Bolat said.
Last year, the company carried a total of 83.4 million passengers, marking a 16.1 percent increase from 2022.
Passengers on international routes increased 14.4 percent to 53 million, while the domestic passenger tally rose more than 27 percent to 29.8 million.
Meanwhile, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan praised Turkish Airlines as “Türkiye’s most valuable brand.”
In 2023, Turkish Airlines contributed $56 billion to the Turkish economy and reinforced its leadership in the field of service exports with around $16 billion in revenues, Erdoğan said in a video message sent to the Turkish Airlines Management Summit yesterday.
More global destinations
“We will increase the number of destinations from the current 345 to 400 by 2033,” Bolat also said.
Turkish Airlines aims to grow in the North American and Asian markets in the next 10 years, according to the company executive.
“As our fleet expands, we will become one of the top seven airlines in the world by then,” he said, noting that Turkish Airlines is the largest carrier in Europe and the Middle East.
They identified the U.S, Canada, Australia, South Korea, China, Malaysia, Taiwan, Indonesia, Singapore and Mexico as their target markets, according to Bolat.
“Our aim is to carry 10 million tourists and generate $30 billion in revenues from those 11 countries.”
Turkish Airlines carried 13.3 million tourists out of a total 42 million holidaymakers who arrived in Türkiye by air last year, he noted.
Bolat recalled that Turkish Airlines recently ordered a total of 355 Airbus aircraft, saying that the company preferred Airbus jets over Boeing airplanes due to the problems related to Boeing’s 737 Max and 737 Max 9 aircraft.
When its fleet doubles in size, the carrier’s contribution to the Turkish economy, will increase to $144 billion, according to Bolat.
