LONDON – The Turkish flag carrier, Turkish Airlines, has released its passenger and cargo uplift figures for September, showing it has carried 7.3 million passengers with an 85.4% load factor for the month.

Analysing its passenger and cargo traffic results for September, the Turkish flag carrier has increased its seat capacity offered to passengers by 15.9 percent compared to same period of 2019.

Having carried a total of 7.3 million passenger while reaching 85.4 percent load factor, the airline continues its strong run out of the pandemic period.

According to September 2022 Traffic Results;

• Carrying a total of 7.3 million passengers, Turkish Airlines’ domestic load factor was recorded as 90.2% and international load factor was 84.9%.
• Cargo and mail volume increased by 7.6 percent compared to same period of 2019 and reached 145 thousand tons.

A strong year for Turkish Airlines

The airline recently characterised its performance as “flying to new records after the most significant crisis of aviation history” after being named the Best Airline in Europe 2022 at last month’s prestigious international Skytrax Awards.

It certainly seems that the airline is living up to its claim as it continues to pace through the year with some solid performances recorded.

According to the January-September 2022 Traffic Results;

• Total passengers carried during January-September period was at 53.9 million.
• During January-September, total load factor was at 79.7 percent. International load factor was at 79% while domestic load factor was at 86.6 percent.
• Total Available Seat Kilometer during January-September became 150.9 billion during 2022 while it was 140.6 billion during the same period of 2019.
• Cargo/mail carried during January-September increased by 12.7% compared to same period of 2019 and reached 1.3 million tons. 
• Number of aircraft in the fleet became 390 at the end of September. 

Eurocontrol figures

According to European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation, commonly known as Eurocontrol, Turkish Airlines was ranked among the top five operators in Europe in the end of September period.

Turkish Airlines was recorded as operating 1,376 daily flights on average, which in real terms was down only 1 percent from 2019 pre-pandemic statistics.

Istanbul Airport similarly rated well, being ranked the busiest airport in Europe on Eurocontrol statistics.

The airport has served 47 million passengers this year, averaging 1,286 daily flight movements according to the September Eurocontrol figures.

Rebuilding route networks

In a recent statement, Turkish Airlines Chairman Ahmet Bolat observed that the airlines strategy for short-term growth was focused upon cultivating and growing traffic on existing routes, as opposed to adding multiple new routes.

This strategy of consolidation rather than bulk expansion appears to be a successful formula, judging from the carrier’s posted performance for the month of September.

With some expectations of airline bankruptcies in the eastern European region across the coming winter months, Turkish Airlines appears to be consolidating its position rather nicely at this stage.