WTM: Turkish charter firm Pegasus announced record growth

“In the first 9 months of 2009 alone, Pegasus Airlines grew by an impressive 46% on international routes and 41% on domestic routes”, Sabanci said.  “This figure comes on the back of four years of extraordinary performance following the launch of scheduled services in 2005, which has seen the airline capture 19% of the Turkish aviation market and follow a growth path of 43%, 2.3 times greater than the sector average”.

The celebratory reception was attended by Turkish Ambassador H.E Yigit Alpogan; editors and journalists from the aviation, trade and consumer international and Turkish press; as well as invited guests from across the travel and aviation industries.

“It’s wonderful to be celebrating the success of Pegasus Airlines in London with the Pegasus Family four years since launching Turkey’s first real low-cost airline; it was always my father’s dream of owning an airline and together with my hard-working team, we’ve turned that dream into reality. We’re all very proud of what we’ve achieved in such a short time.”

Defying the economic crisis, Pegasus Airlines is set to continue this stunning growth, as Sabanci added that 23 new generation Boeing 737-800s will join the fleet by 2012, making it the largest aircraft order in the region at $2.3 billion.  The airline is in negotiations to increase this order further.

Pegasus Airline parent company ESAS Holding is also rapidly developing into a global airline, with Pegasus’ sister company IZair on board since 2007 and the acquisition of an 18.3% stake in Air Berlin this year, making it Germany’s second largest and Europe’s fifth largest airline’s biggest private shareholder; The airline also announced the setting up of a joint venture Kyrgyz Pegasus Airlines (KPA), with Kyrgyzstan Airlines in October 2009.

The airline’s UK operations are also set to grow, with 17 flights from UK to Turkey per week scheduled for next year including London-Istanbul, Bodrum, Dalaman; Manchester- Antalya, Dalaman; Birmingham- Antalya, Bodrum.  The airline carried 100,154 guests in 2008 from the UK, with a huge growth in passenger numbers this year, reaching 213,136 in the first 10 months of this year.

The company links flights with its Air Berlin partner.