Turkish Airlines earns net profit of $959m in 2021

By Azernews

By Ibrahim Acar

Turkish Airlines Board Chairman Ahmet Bolat has said that the company made a $959 million net profit while earning a $1.4 billion operating profit in 2021, Yeni Shafak has reported

Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, the company increased its total revenues by 59 percent to $10.7 billion in 2021. Furthermore, the company's profit before interest, depreciation, and tax (which indicates its cash generation potential) was $3.7 billion.

Turkish Airlines outperformed its competitors becoming Europe's largest network carrier with the most flights in 2021. Turkish tourism's fastest recovery in the world supported the company’s operations. Turkish Airlines' wide flight network, strong tariff structure and superior hygiene standards were instrumental in quickly overcoming the effects of the pandemic.

Turkish Airlines used its wide-body passenger planes for Turkish Cargo service, turning the crisis period into an opportunity by contributing cargo transportation during the pandemic.

The cargo revenue of the corporation climbed by 125 percent from 2019 to $4 billion in 2021. Turkish Cargo's market share climbed to 5.2 percent in 2021, placing it fifth in the globe (with cargo unit revenues up 28 percent and total cargo revenues up 77 percent). The market share of Turkish Airlines in the world cargo market grew from 1 percent to 5.2 percent since 2011. 

“We have passed through the most difficult period in the history of world aviation. Except for the regional crises, there has never been a period in history where flights stopped and slowed down like this around the world. I believe that the hardest days have passed and the time has come for our industry to make a fresh start,” Bolat stressed.

He stated that the restrictions imposed by the countries and the changes in the flight habits of the passengers during the pandemic seriously affected the company in terms of the number of passengers.

“Despite all the negativity, the global crisis caused by the pandemic has enabled us to focus on new horizons with the experience and the opportunities it has brought. We turned the crisis into an opportunity with cargo flights at the point where airline flights stopped and passenger transportation was restricted. We aim to increase our growth with the summer term of 2022," he said.

Bolat added that they aim to exceed the capacity in 2019 with the new points they plan to commission at additional flight points in the North, Central and South America regions.

Bolat stated that the company will employ an additional 1,000 cabin crew and 250 technical personnel in 2022, and additional employment announcements can be made according to the need.

Turkish Airlines General Manager Bilal Eksi stated that they put an additional flight to the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv prior to Russian intervention, but these flights did not attract enough attention from Turkish citizens.

Eksi emphasized that it is Turkish Airlines' national duty to transport the compatriots to Turkey from wherever they are in the globe and that the company is always ready for new responsibilities.