Pegasus Airlines

Pegasus Airlines (Turkish: Pegasus Hava Taşımacılığı A.Ş.) (BİST: PGSUS) is a Turkish low-cost carrier headquartered in the Kurtköy area of Pendik, Istanbul[2] with bases at several Turkish airports.

Pegasus Airlines
IATA ICAO Callsign
PC PGT SUNTURK
Founded12 January 1991
HubsIstanbul Sabiha Gökçen International Airport
Focus cities
Frequent-flyer programPegasus BolBol
Subsidiaries
Fleet size94
Destinations111
Parent companyESAS Holding
Traded asBİST: PGSUS
HeadquartersIstanbul, Turkey
Key people
  • Ali Sabanci, Chairman
  • Mehmet Tevfik Nane, General Manager
Revenue 11.03 billion TRY (2019)[1]
Operating income 2.049 billion TRY (2019)
Net income 1.334 billion TRY (2019)
Total assets 6.088 billion TRY (2019)
Total equity 5.342 billion TRY (2019)
Employees6,164 (December 2019)[1]
Websiteflypgs.com

History

A former Pegasus Airlines Boeing 737-400 in the airline's old livery (photographed c. 2008)
Pegasus is the winged divine horse in Greek mythology.

On 1 December 1989, two businesses, Net and Silkar, partnered with Aer Lingus to create an inclusive tour charter airline called Pegasus Airlines and services were inaugurated on 15 April 1990 with two Boeing 737-400s. In Greek mythology, Pegasus (Greek: Πήγασος Pégasos, 'strong') was a winged horse sired by Poseidon, in his role as horse-god, and foaled by the Gorgon Medusa. However, four months after the launch, Iraq invaded Kuwait and the seven-month occupation that followed had a serious effect on Turkish tourism.[3] By 1992, tourists began returning to the country and Pegasus grew with the acquisition of a third 737-400. The airline leased a further two Airbus A320s to meet the summer demand.[3]

After two positive years, Aer Lingus and Net sold their shares in the company in 1994 to Istanbul-based Yapi Kredibank, making Pegasus a purely Turkish company.[3]

On 4 September 1997, Pegasus placed an order for one 737-400 and one 737-800 from Boeing Commercial Airplanes, making it the first Turkish carrier to place an order for the Boeing 737 Next Generation. The airline also signed lease agreements for a further 10 737-800s from the ILFC.[3]

In January 2005, ESAS Holdings purchased Pegasus Airlines and placed Ali Sabanci as the chairman. Two months later, he changed the airline from a charter airline to a low-cost airline. In November 2005, Pegasus placed an order for 12 new 737-800s from Boeing, which was backed up with an order for a further 12 737-800s in November 2008. The latter order had flexibility, as the orders could be changed to the 149-seat 737-700 or the 215-seat 737-900 depending on market demand. In 2018, Pegasus tried to acquire an A380 but later cancelled the order.[3]

In 2007, Pegasus had reached a domestic market share of 15%, which grew to 27% in 2013.[4] In 2019, it carried a total of 29.87 million passengers.

In November 2011, Air Berlin and Pegasus Airlines launched Air Berlin Turkey, which was aimed at the charter market between Germany and Turkey.[5][6][7] The new airline however was absorbed into Pegasus Airlines on 31 March 2013.[8]

In 2012, Pegasus Airlines, the second-largest airline in Turkey, signed for up to 100 A320neo Family aircraft (57 A320neo and 18 A321neo models), of which 75 were firm orders. Pegasus became a new Airbus customer and the first Turkish airline to order the A320neo. This was the largest single commercial aircraft order ever placed by an airline in Turkey at that time and was announced on 18 December 2012 at a ceremony attended by Binali Yıldırım, the Turkish Minister of Transport.[9] In June 2012, Pegasus Airlines bought 49% of the Kyrgyz air company Air Manas. On 22 March 2013, the air company operated its first flight under the brand name Pegasus Asia.[10]

The company offered 34.5% of its shares of stock to the public. The shares began to be traded at the Borsa Istanbul as BİST: PGSUS on 26 April 2013.[11]

In October 2016, Pegasus Airlines announced it was offering three of its aircraft on the ACMI and leasing markets, stating severely decreasing passenger numbers.[12]

Corporate affairs

Cabin

Pegasus Airlines operates a one-class interior configuration on all of its aircraft. A "Flying Cafe" is available to all passengers whereby food and beverages are provided for an additional charge. Pegasus is also considering installing in-flight entertainment and charging for headphones (currently, only overhead screens are available on selected 737-800s and they only display a computer-generated map showing the flight's progress).[3] All new Boeing 737-800s arrived after November 2011 have Boeing Sky Interior.

Training and maintenance

Unlike most low-cost carriers, Pegasus runs its own flight crew training centre and maintenance organisation, Pegasus Technic. Both centres are fully licensed and are used to train new staff members both on the ground and in the air.[3][13]

Sponsorships

Pegasus Airlines is one of the official sponsors of Türk Telekom Arena, a newly built stadium for Turkish Club Galatasaray S.K.[14]

Destinations

Codeshare agreements

Pegasus Airlines has codeshare agreements with the following airlines:[15]

Fleet

A Pegasus Airlines Airbus A320neo
A Pegasus Airlines Boeing 737-800

Current fleet

As of June 2020, the Pegasus Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft:[17]

Pegasus Airlines fleet
Aircraft In service Orders Passengers Notes
Airbus A320-200 12 180
Airbus A320neo 40 21[17] 186 Deliveries through 2022.
Airbus A321neo 7 35 239
Boeing 737-800 35 189 All aircraft to be phased out and replaced by the A320 series.
Total 94 57

Historic fleet

Incidents and accidents

See also

References

  1. "Annual Report 2019". Pegasus investor relations. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  2. "Headquarters." Pegasus Airlines. Retrieved 24 November 2012.
  3. "Winged Horses over Istanbul" – Airliner World, December 2008
  4. Annual Report 2013 url=http://www.pegasusinvestorrelations.com/medium/image/2013-annual-report_151/view.aspx |accessdate=11 June 2020
  5. Cortal Unternehmensprofil auf cortalconsors.de.
  6. Air Berlin und Pegasus mit neuem Produkt Archived 21 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine auf airliners.de 25. August 2011.
  7. "Türkische ESAS-Holding plant neuen Charteranbieter" (in German). aero.de. 26 August 2011.
  8. "Air Berlin Turkey Fleet Details and History". www.planespotters.net. Archived from the original on 30 October 2011.
  9. Pegasus selects up to 100 A320neo Family Aircraft Archived 30 December 2012 at the Wayback Machine Airbus. 18 December 2010. Retrieved 28 January 2014.
  10. Pegasus. "Pegasus'ta Ucuz Uçak Bileti Demek Özgürlük Demek". www.flypgs.com. Archived from the original on 12 March 2014. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
  11. "Pegasus Hava Yolları işlem görmeye başladı". Hürriyet (in Turkish). 26 April 2013. Retrieved 26 April 2013.
  12. ch-aviation.com - Turkey's Pegasus Airlines puts entire fleet up for lease 6 October 2016
  13. Pegasus flight academy Pegasus.
  14. Levent Tüzemen. (24 May 2010). Stat Galatasaray'ı uçuracak Sabah. Retrieved 28 January 2014.
  15. "Profile on Pegasus Airlines". CAPA. Centre for Aviation. Archived from the original on 1 November 2016. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
  16. "Pegasus Airlines and Alitalia enter into a codeshare agreement".
  17. "Fleet Information". Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  18. "Incident: Izmir Airlines A319 at Frankfurt on Mar 10th 2010, blew nose gear tyres on landing". Avherald.com. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
  19. "Hijack attempter arrested by court". Dha.com.tr. Archived from the original on 23 February 2014. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
  20. Gul Tuysuz; Michael Martinez (7 February 2014). "Official: Plane lands in Turkey after bomb threat, passenger wants to land in Sochi".
  21. Ibekwe, David (19 January 2018). "It took 2 cranes to lift the 41-tonne plane that skidded off an icy runway in Turkey". United Kingdom: Business Insider UK. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  22. Hradecky, Simon (13 January 2018). "Accident: Pegasus B738 at Trabzon on Jan 13th 2018, runway excursion". Retrieved 14 January 2018.
  23. Hradecky, Simon. "Incident: Pegasus B738 at Istanbul on Jan 7th 2020, runway excursion on landing". Aviation Herald. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  24. "Plane splits in three after skidding off Istanbul runway". Sky News.
  25. "Plane skids off runway and splits in Turkey". BBC News. 5 February 2020. Retrieved 5 February 2020.

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