Turkish Airlines Marketing Strategy
TURKISH AIRLINES MARKETING STRATEGY
1. Airline Overview
Turkish Airlines, Turkey’s national flag carrier, was founded in Ankara on 20 May 1933 as “State Airlines Administration,” under the direction of the Ministry of Defence. In 1955, it was restructured into “Turkish Airlines”. 25% of the company was sold via an SPO under a privatisation programme in 2005. Today 50.9% of the company shares are public, while the rest remain state-owned.
In 2008, Turkish Airlines has kept its position ranked as one of the fastest-growing airlines among European Carriers in terms of capacity and traffic growth. When considering the economical crisis affecting many European Carriers and leading them to decrease their operations; Turkish Airlines has increased its annual passenger and the Available Seat Kilometer (ASK) by 15% and 11,3% respectively. With its fleet of 127 aircraft, in 2009 Turkish Airlines carried 22,5 million passengers and the number of transit passengers have increased by 41,3 % across a network comprised of 145 International and 36 domestic destinations From Istanbul, Turkish Airlines operate various onward connections throughout the Middle East and Central Asia. Turkish Airlines also have an extensive network of domestic flights, with the shuttle service between Istanbul and the Turkish capital Ankara being particularly well used. Since April 2008, Turkish Airlines became a Star Alliance member enabling the company to offer even more destination through the code share flights of its partners.
2. Existing Market
Turkish Airlines is one of the major operators connecting directly UK with Turkey (and beyond) from London - Heathrow through its major hub in Istanbul – Ataturk Airport. Despite there are other airlines servicing London – Istanbul route, such as Pegasus Airlines, Turkish Airlines main competitor remains British Airways. Although Turkish Airlines compete with a very strong positioned and well known operator as BA, the company remains very stable
1. Airline Overview
Turkish Airlines, Turkey’s national flag carrier, was founded in Ankara on 20 May 1933 as “State Airlines Administration,” under the direction of the Ministry of Defence. In 1955, it was restructured into “Turkish Airlines”. 25% of the company was sold via an SPO under a privatisation programme in 2005. Today 50.9% of the company shares are public, while the rest remain state-owned.
In 2008, Turkish Airlines has kept its position ranked as one of the fastest-growing airlines among European Carriers in terms of capacity and traffic growth. When considering the economical crisis affecting many European Carriers and leading them to decrease their operations; Turkish Airlines has increased its annual passenger and the Available Seat Kilometer (ASK) by 15% and 11,3% respectively. With its fleet of 127 aircraft, in 2009 Turkish Airlines carried 22,5 million passengers and the number of transit passengers have increased by 41,3 % across a network comprised of 145 International and 36 domestic destinations From Istanbul, Turkish Airlines operate various onward connections throughout the Middle East and Central Asia. Turkish Airlines also have an extensive network of domestic flights, with the shuttle service between Istanbul and the Turkish capital Ankara being particularly well used. Since April 2008, Turkish Airlines became a Star Alliance member enabling the company to offer even more destination through the code share flights of its partners.
2. Existing Market
Turkish Airlines is one of the major operators connecting directly UK with Turkey (and beyond) from London - Heathrow through its major hub in Istanbul – Ataturk Airport. Despite there are other airlines servicing London – Istanbul route, such as Pegasus Airlines, Turkish Airlines main competitor remains British Airways. Although Turkish Airlines compete with a very strong positioned and well known operator as BA, the company remains very stable
References: Textbooks: Shaw S. (2004), “Airline Marketing and Management”, 5th edition, Ashgate Publishing Ltd., UK Web sites: Turkish Airlines: www.turkishairlines.com Pegasus Airlines: www.flypgs.com Istanbul – Ataturk Airport: www.ataturkairport.com Turkey Tourism Authority: www.tourismturkey.org Turkey Visitors site: www.goturkey European Culture Capital: www.en.istanbul2010.org Turk Statistic Institute: www.turkstat.gov.tr