Turkish airline companies fly high, setting ambitious targets

Turkey’s national carrier Turkish Airlines (THY) and low-cost carrier Pegasus have posted higher-than-expected net profits in the third quarter of the year, due to a rise in passenger numbers and lower oil prices, as they set ambitious goals for the coming years. Analysts expect an increase in the companies’ net profits during the fourth quarter, as they will be benefiting from the decrease in oil prices.

THY CEO Temel Kotil also announced Nov. 11 a number ambitious goals, including establishing another permanent fleet in Istanbul.

“We will establish a permanent fleet in the Sabiha Gökçen Airport of Istanbul,” he said at a press meeting yesterday, adding that the company’s main hub will be the third airport after it is opened in 2017 with an initial 90 million passenger capacity.”

“We’ll be transferring our 100 airplanes to the Sabiha Gökçen from our main base in the third airport, which will still have 300 THY airplanes,” he noted.

THY’s third-quarter net profit almost doubled compared with the same period from last year. The carrier reported a net profit of 1.37 billion Turkish Liras ($607 million), up from 705.1 million liras a year earlier and an above average forecast of 1.16 billion liras in a Reuters poll of analysts. Sales rose to 7.17 billion liras in the quarter, the company said in a statement to the Public Disclosure Platform (KAP) late Nov. 10. That was a 26 percent rise from a year earlier, and beat the poll forecast of 6.89 billion liras. In the first nine months of the year, the airline’s passenger numbers rose 14 percent to 41.4 million passengers, it said in an e-mailed statement. Pegasus posted a net profit of 250.6 million liras ($110.4 million) in the third quarter of the year with...