Pegasus Airlines

Not to be confused with Air Pegasus.
Pegasus Airlines
IATA ICAO Callsign
PC PGT SUNTURK
Founded 1990 (1990)
Hubs
Focus cities
Frequent-flyer program Pegasus Plus
Subsidiaries
Fleet size 74
Destinations 103
Company slogan We Didn't Start Aviation In Turkey, But We Transformed It.
Parent company ESAS Holding
Headquarters Istanbul, Turkey
Key people
  • Ali Sabanci, Chairman
  • Mehmet Tevfik Nane, General Manager
Revenue Increase 4.1 billion TRY (2013)[1]
Employees 3,608 (December 31, 2014)[2]
Website flypgs.com

Pegasus Airlines (Turkish: Pegasus Hava Taşımacılığı A.Ş.) is a Turkish low-cost airline headquartered in the Kurtköy area of Pendik, Istanbul[3] with bases at several Turkish airports.

History

A former Pegasus Airlines Boeing 737-400 in the old livery

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.[4] 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.[4]

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.[4]

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.[4]

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 has flexibility in it as the orders can be changed to the 149-seat 737-700 or the 215-seat 737–900 depending on market demand.[4]

In 2007, Pegasus carried more passengers in Turkey than any other private airline. In 2008, it carried a total of 4.4 million passengers.[5] In 2013 the passenger traffic grew even further to 16.8 million passengers carried.[1]

In 2012, Pegasus Airlines, the second largest airline in Turkey, has signed for up to 100 A320neo Family aircraft (57 A320neo and 18 A321neo models), of which 75 are firm orders. Pegasus becomes 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 December 18, 2012 at a ceremony attended by Binali Yıldırım, the Turkish Minister of Transport.[6] In June 2012, Pegasus Airlines bought 49% of the Kyrgyz air company Air Manas. 22 March 2013 the air company had operated its first flight under the brand name Pegasus Asia.[7]

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.[8]

In October 2016, Pegasus Airlines announced to offer three of its aircraft on the ACMI and leasing markets, stating severely decreasing passenger numbers.[9]

Corporate affairs

Cabin

Pegasus Airlines operates a one-class interior configuration on all of their 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).[4] 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.[4][10]

Sponsorships

Pegasus Airlines is one of the official sponsors of Türk Telekom Arena, newly built stadium for Turkish Club Galatasaray SK.[11]

Awards

Pegasus Airlines was named the cheapest European low cost airline in research held in October 2013[12][13] and again in June 2014.[14]

Destinations

Codeshare agreements

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

Fleet

Pegasus Airlines Boeing 737-800

As of March 2016, the Pegasus Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft:[16][17]

Pegasus Airlines fleet
Aircraft In Service Orders Passengers Notes
Y Total
Airbus A320-200 12 — 180 180
Airbus A320neo 4 53[18] 186 186 Deliveries until 2022[19][20]
Airbus A321neo — 18[18] 220 220
Boeing 737-800 59 5[21] 189 189 8 operated by Izair; 6 operated by Air Manas
Total 74 77

Pegasus Airlines used to operate three Boeing 737-400 which were introduced in 2006, the last of the three aircraft was retired in 2012.

Incidents and accidents

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Pegasus Increased Gross Profit By 41 Per Cent In 2013
  2. ↑ http://www.pegasusinvestorrelations.com/_assets/file/pdf/en/activity-reports/PGSUS-2014-4-Annual-Report.pdf
  3. ↑ "Headquarters." Pegasus Airlines. Retrieved 24 November 2012.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Winged Horses over Istanbul" – Airliner World, December 2008
  5. ↑ [sabanciuniv.edu http://www.sabanciuniv.edu/eng/?medya/bulten/bulten_detay.php?ContentID=71]
  6. ↑ Pegasus selects up to 100 A320neo Family Aircraft Airbus. 18 December 2010. Retrieved 28 January 2014.
  7. ↑ History
  8. ↑ "Pegasus Hava Yolları işlem görmeye başladı". Hürriyet (in Turkish). 26 April 2013. Retrieved 26 April 2013.
  9. ↑ ch-aviation.com - Turkey's Pegasus Airlines puts entire fleet up for lease 6 October 2016
  10. ↑ Pegasus flight academy Pegasus.
  11. ↑ Levent Tüzemen. (24 May 2010). Stat Galatasaray'ı uçuracak Sabah. Retrieved 28 January 2014.
  12. ↑ Ryanair: not the cheapest airline? The Telegraph
  13. ↑ Battle of the low-cost airlines: is Ryanair the cheapest? Which Airline. Retrieved 28 January 2014.
  14. ↑ Battle of the low-cost airlines: Ryanair, AirAsia or tigerair? None of them in 2014! Which Airline. Retrieved 16 June 2014.
  15. ↑ "Profile on Pegasus Airlines". CAPA. Centre for Aviation. Archived from the original on 2016-11-01. Retrieved 2016-11-01.
  16. ↑ Fleet Information Pegasus Airlines
  17. ↑ Pegasus Airlines Fleet ch-aviation.ch
  18. 1 2 "Airbus A320 Neo Family Firm Orders". Airbus. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
  19. ↑ Ercan Ersoy and Robert Wall (18 December 2012). "Airbus Ousts Boeing at Pegasus With $12 Billion A320neo Deal". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
  20. ↑ "Pegasus Selects LEAP-1A Engine for A320neo fleet – CFM International". Retrieved 19 May 2016.
  21. ↑ http://www.boeing.com/commercial/#/orders-deliveries
  22. ↑ "Incident: Izmir Airlines A319 at Frankfurt on Mar 10th 2010, blew nose gear tyres on landing". Avherald.com. Retrieved 2014-02-09.
  23. ↑ "Hijack attempter arrested by court". Dha.com.tr. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
  24. ↑ Gul Tuysuz; Michael Martinez (7 February 2014). "Official: Plane lands in Turkey after bomb threat, passenger wants to land in Sochi".

External links

Media related to Pegasus Airlines at Wikimedia Commons

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