Anadolujet offers affordable flights to all
Posted by meb at April 9th, 2008
Turkish Airlines (THY) Chairman Candan Karlıtekin has said the newly launched Anadolujet project aims to serve customers in all income brackets with airfare as low as YTL 29 (=$US 23) for flights to 20 destinations from Ankara.
Karlıtekin was speaking at a news conference in Hatay hosted by the Antakya Chamber of Commerce and Trade (ATOS) yesterday to disclose details about its subsidiary, Anadolujet. He said flights would start by April 23. Anadolujet will only fly domestically, Karlıtekin told a group of local reporters. All tickets will be priced at YTL 29 between April 23 and April 29. The company is trying to compete with low-cost carriers such as Easy Jet, which recently penetrated the Turkish market. In order to do that, Anadolujet plans to sacrifice courtesy services to offer customers cheaper tickets. Karlıtekin said he expects 650,000 travelers to take advantage of the low prices (YTL 29 to YTL 49).
THY will collect YTL 20 from Anadolujet for passengers who want to transfer to a THY flight in Ankara on their way to their next destination. “We hope to increase the commercial value of our company with Anadolujet and to benefit our country more as Turkey’s national carrier as well as improving domestic aviation,” he noted.
Anadolujet will use Boeing 737-400 aircraft for low-cost carrier services. Ankara will be the hub for Anadolujet flights. It has scheduled daily flights between Ankara and İzmir, Bodrum, Dalaman, Antalya, Adana, Kahramanmaraş, Hatay, Gaziantep, Malatya, Adıyaman, Şanlıurfa, Mardin, Diyarbakır, Erzincan, Batman, Muş, Van, Erzurum, Kars and Trabzon.
Over the last five years, THY, a 14,000 employee-strong company, has increased its efficiency and speed of customer services. It signed an agreement with Pratt & Whitney, which operates under the United Technologies Corporation, for engine production and maintenance.
THY will celebrate its 75th anniversary on May 20. “We joined the Star Alliance on April 1 and will be one of the leading global carriers on the 100th anniversary of the establishment of modern Turkey [2023],” he said.
According to Karlıtekin, the occupancy rate for flights to Hatay was very good even though the airport opened only recently, in December 2007. “We began with three round-trip flights per week and increased this to seven flights per week,” he said, adding that THY plans to fly twice a day in the near future from İstanbul.
THY will host the World Aviation Congress in İstanbul on June 1-3.
Hatay Airport administrative chief and Deputy Governor Ali Muhittin Varol, Justice and Development Party (AK Party) Hatay deputy Orhan Karasayar, Antakya Mayor Mehmet Yeloğlu, Antakya Chief of Police Osman Çapalı and Antakya Chamber of Commerce President Mehmet Ali Kuseyri were in attendance at the ATOS news conference.
source: Today’s Zaman
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