TURKEY: Turkish Airlines Eyes 72.4 Million Passengers In 2016

Turkish Airlines (THY) has reached a total of 61.2 million passengers in 2015 with 11.8 percent increase compared to 54.8 million passengers in 2014, according to the traffic results of the company shared on Tuesday through the Public Disclosure Platform (KAP).

Turkey's flag carrier has increased the number of passengers carried by 11.8 percent for domestic flights and 9 percent for international flights, while the increase in the number of international transfer passengers was 18.1 percent. The passenger load factor decreased by 1.4 percentage points to 77.9 percent, and it is expected to stand at 78 percent in 2016.

The company also revealed its targets for 2016, in which it said that the total number of passengers carried is targeted to reach 72.4 million, including 30.6 million on scheduled domestic routes, 40.8 million on scheduled international routes, and the rest on charter and hajj flights. THY aims to increase the number of employees by 19 percent in 2016, and targets a 20 to 22 percent EBITDAR margin.

The number of destinations flown by THY, went up to 284 in 2015 from 261 in December 2014 and the company continued holding its world leader status in the number of destinations. The number of domestic destinations increased from 43 to 49 and international destinations increased from 218 to 235. Six additional routes will be added in 2015, bringing the total number of destinations to 290.

THY has increased the of Available Seat Kilometers (ASK) by 13.6 percent from 134.8 billion in 2014 to 153.2 billion in 2015. The ASK has increased by 13.1 percent for domestic flights and 13.7 percent for international flights. The ASK is predicted to reach to 186 billion in 2016 with an increase of 21 percent compared to 2015, which would be mainly driven by increases in America, Africa and regions far east.

The number of landings made by passenger aircraft in 2015 increased by 9.6 percent to 452,982.

THY Cargo carried 720,440 tons of cargo and mail in 2015 with an increase of 8.7 percent compared to 2014, and it is aimed to reach 815,000 tons in 2016.

The number of aircraft went up from 261 to 299 in 2015. The number of wide body aircraft increased from 55 to 73, narrow body aircraft from 197 to 216 and cargo aircraft from 9 to 10. By the end of 2016, THY aims to increase the fleet size to reach to 339, including 240 narrow body, 87 wide body and 12 cargo aircraft.