Bilal Ekşi, CEO, managing director and board member of Turkish Airlines, is positive about the airline’s long-term as it emerges from the demanding situations of the pandemic. Before assuming the position of director of the airline, he is guilty of reviewing the airline (maintenance) workshops before being appointed Director of Ground Operations and then Director of Production at Turkish Technic.
Ekşi served as Turkey’s Director General of Civil Aviation and a member of the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). Its decades of aviation experience delight in positioning the Star Alliance member airline well in times of economic instability. how the airline has dealt with the demanding situations of the pandemic and an update from the airline on where it sees the airline transforming in the coming years.
During the pandemic, foreign passenger traffic slowed, but domestic calls played a vital role for the airline. While the number of foreign passengers reached only 25% of 2019 levels, domestic passenger traffic reached 72%. The airline carried 2640 million domestic passengers and 1850 million foreign passengers in 2019. Compare that to 2021, when the airline carried a total of 1780 million domestic passengers and only 511 million on foreign flights. Internal affairs are very vital.
Revenue losses in 2020 and 2021 have melted profits over the past seven years, but the recovery is underway. Today, the Americas are a leading region in recovery. Turkey increased its capacity by 8. 6% through 2019 and added several new destinations. First quarter of 2022, our peak demand markets in North America were New York, Chicago, Miami and Los Angeles.
The total profit for the fourth quarter of 2021 exceeded that of the same quarter of 2019. For the full year, 2021 profit reached 81% of 2019 figures, $10. 7 billion.
By taking agile measures opposed to declining passenger traffic and chain disruptions, Turkish Airlines has remodeled more than 30 passenger aircraft for shipping operations and climbed to fifth place in the 2021 global rating for shipping integrators. The amount of cargo transported in 2021 is higher at 21. 7% compared to 2019. During this period, we served 98 airports in 72 countries with cargo aircraft.
Freight cash nearly tripled in the fourth quarter of 2021 and more than doubled in 2021, to the same periods in 2019 and reached $4 billion for last year’s total. During this period, Turkish Airlines controlled to reduce its operating expenses by 25. 6% to 2019, generating a net profit of $959 million.
In 2021, we expanded to new destinations: Newark and Dallas/Fort Worth, USA. USA; Vancouver, Canada; Urmia, Iran; Turkestan and Aktaou, Kazakhstan; Fergana and Urgench, Uzbekistan; and Luanda, Angola.
This year, the airline introduced Cebu in the Philippines and Seattle/Tacoma in the United States, which is the airline’s 12th gateway to the United States and the airline’s 335th destination. New cities planned for the network include Denver and Detroit, USA. USA; Sialkot, Pakistan; and Juba, South Sudan, depending on market conditions.
This year, the airline presented a global advertising crusade at Super Bowl LVI, with Morgan Freeman showing the airline’s address map, which offers flights to more countries than any other airline on the planet.
Turkish Airlines is known for its award-winning cuisine and Turkish hospitality, but in line with other coronavirus-related measures in 2020, the airline has made transitory adjustments to meals on flights. Since May 2021 and in accordance with fitness protocols, Turkish Airlines is Once Back, provides full premium menus ready with new ingredients from the Turkish DO.
The Flying Chefs program that will be offered on all long-haul flights (and some short-haul flights) also resumed, giving passengers the opportunity to feel like they’re dining at a place to eat over the clouds. Turkish, the first airline to offer candlelight food in business class on flights of 8 hours or more.
The airline lately has one of the youngest and most fashionable fleets worldwide given its size. We have 371 aircraft (247 narrow-body aircraft and 104 wide-body aircraft) as well as 20 embarkation aircraft. In 2021, 3 wide-body aircraft and 18 narrow-body aircraft joined the fleet with more Airbus A321neo, A350 and Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft en route. product.
When will the flight network be fully restored?
Due to the ongoing effects of the pandemic and national restrictions, especially in the Far East, this will take some time. The existing network and capacity are constantly adjusting to market conditions, which means that the network is rebalanced according to demand. Some markets, such as North America, are doing better than before the pandemic. According to the latter, the airline reached 91% of total capacity in the first quarter of 2022 compared to the same era in 2019. In North America, capacity jumped to 142% compared to the same era in 2019, confirming that the Americas will play a vital role in the economic recovery.