Pegasus Airlines plans to raise capacity by 20% this year as new aircraft are delivered.
The fleet size of the Turkish budget carrier is set to exceed 100 with the introduction of new generation aircraft.
The expansion follows passenger carryings rising by a third to 26.9 million last year over 2021 as turnover grew by 139% year-on-year to €2.45 billion to deliver a net profit of €431 million. The revenue figure grew by 41% over pre-pandemic 2019.
The airline has evacuated 152,950 people with 785 evacuation flights from zones in Turkey hit by last month’s earthquakes and carried 111 tonnes of aid.
Almost 127,000 people, including rescue workers, have been flown to the region
Chief executive Guliz Ozturk pledged to maintain support for people affected by the quakes and to assist aid teams.
She added: “As one of the region’s leading low-cost airlines, we are working hard for our industry and our guests.
“To meet the increased travel demand that has followed the easing of restrictions, we have made sure that our operational structure and our colleagues across all our business departments were ready; and we have increased our capacities.
“As a result of our meticulous and strategic efforts, we concluded 2022 successfully. Our 2022 revenue increased by 41% compared to 2019, which was the last full pre-pandemic year.
“Our ebitda margin reached 34.1% at the end of the year, achieving the highest performance in this metric globally”.
Noting that the total number of global air passengers in 2022 is estimated to have surpassed 70% of 2019 figures, Ozturk said:
“Given the challenging operating conditions resulting from the factors including global surge in inflation and heightened geopolitical tensions, the fact that demand is recovering so strongly is a positive indicator for the aviation industry.
“The recovery has not yet spread equally across all continents and countries worldwide; in other words, we have not yet fully recovered from the damage caused by the pandemic.
“Yet the industry’s recovery is faster than the initial outlook predicted. The recovery in passenger numbers in Turkey has been faster and more pronounced compared to the rest of the world, with total passenger numbers in Turkey in 2022 reaching 90% of the 2019 figures.”