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Talking Turkey
01 March 2006
Turkish Airlines is expanding and has big plans to become a major hub for travel within Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Victoria Pennington reports.
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Turkish Airlines
Airlines
aerospace
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The Turkish economy is growing. Over the past four years it has grown on average by 7% per annum. With the accompanying rise in business travel and the continued popularity of Turkey as a tourist destination, Turk Havi Yollari (THY Turkish Airlines) has had to expand rapidly to keep up.
"We are expanding domestically and internationally but this has come naturally," says Temel Kotil, the carrier's president and CEO. "The rise in demand has mainly come from a stronger economy, which has contributed to an increase in business passengers, but tourist traffic is also increasing. Turkey is an ideal location for a hub. From Istanbul you can reach 55 capitals within three-and-a-half hours flying time using narrowbody aircraft. This is unique."
In 2004 international passenger traffic in Turkey increased by more than 20%, and domestic travel rose by 58%. As a result, THY has widened its network. "We have added...
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