Page 103 - TURKRptJun19

9.2.3 Transport corporate news
● Turkish Airlines
Turkish Airlines plans to hire as many as 10,000 new personnel this year, according to the flag carrier’s board chairman Ilker Ayci. Ayci said the airline initially planned to hire 8,400 personnel in 2019 but later upgraded this figure. “We have already recruited 4,600 people in the first five months of the year,” he added. Ayci explained that after the carrier moved its hub operations to the new mega airport outside Istanbul, the company realised that it would need more staff. “We will also receive new jets later this year for our fleet. The new airport and new airplanes mean we need more personnel,” Ayci said, adding that Turkish Airlines currently employs 66,000 staff. According to the company’s website, the airline, which flies to more than 300 destinations in 124 countries, has 336 airplanes in its fleet. The announcement on new hiring comes at a time when Turkey is suffering from an economic contraction and high unemployment. The OECD predicted earlier this week that the Turkish economy will contract 2.6% this year, a revision from the previous estimate for a 1.8% decline in national output. Besides the dire economic conditions prevailing in the country, Turkish Airlines does not seem to be in very good financial health. The carrier posted a net loss of TRY1.25bn ($204mn) in the first quarter of 2019 versus the loss of TRY314mn reported a year earlier. Its revenues increased to TRY14.85bn in January-March from TRY10.5bn in the first quarter a year ago. In an announcement made in January, Turkish Airlines said it was targeting 80mn passengers and $14.1bn in revenues this year. The carrier served 75.2mn passengers last year, a 10% increase from 2017.
Boeing 737-8 MAX grounding has made ‘minimal impact on Turkish Airlines’. A senior executive from flag carrier Turkish Airlines has said that the impact of Boeing grounding its 737-8 MAX aircraft worldwide in the wake of two deadly crashes has only minimally impacted the carrier’s operations. “We have 12 Boeing 737 MAX jets, but we managed to make up for that by employing our Airbus fleet,” Tuncay Eminoglu, vice president for sales for Asia region, told journalists. According to the information on the Turkish Airlines website, the airline has a total of 335 aeroplanes in its fleet, including cargo planes. It flies to 311 destinations in 124 countries. The number of passengers THY served increased nearly 13% between 2008 and 2018, three times the world average. Eminoglu also said that Turkish Airlines is seeking to expand operations in Africa where there is huge potential for the carrier. “Africa remains the priority for Turkish Airlines. We fly to 56 destinations on the continent, second only to Ethiopian Airlines and first in terms of cargo services,” he said. Turkish Cargo, the airline’s freight division, has increased its global market share, growing from 0.7% in 2010 to 2.22% in 2018. It currently serves 86 destinations. Turkish Airlines is targeting a passenger volume of 80 million this year, up from 75.2 million in 2018. The company’s revenue target for 2019 is $14.1bn.
103 TURKEY Country Report June 2019 www.intellinews.com