Turkish Airlines to use US dollar for international tickets in Turkey

“Our decision has been improved by the IATA and has been put into action,” said Turkish Airlines in a written statement to the Public Disclosure Platform late on May 26. 

International sales originating in Turkey constitute around 15 percent of the total revenue, added the statement. 

Turkey’s national flag carrier made this decision due to the sharp fluctuations in foreign exchange rates and rising expenses in dollars, according to sector representatives. 

Compared to the first quarter of 2014, Turkish Airlines sales revenue decreased by 4 percent in U.S. dollar terms due to euro depreciation, ending up with a total of $2.2 billion, the company said on May 11. Turkish Airlines disclosed an adjusted operating loss of $18 million, outperforming the first quarter of 2014 by 77 percent, and it recorded a $153 million net profit during the lowest season of the aviation industry, it added. 

During the January-April 2015 period, the total number of passengers carried increased by 7.3 percent, reaching 17.8 million passengers from 16.6 million passengers for the same period of 2014, the company said in another statement on May 15.