The Turkish low-cost carrier, Pegasus Airlines has posted big losses for 2016, the troubled airline reported its net loss of 136.2 million Turkish lira ($36.1 million). A massive change from last years 11.9 million profit.
A slight loss had been expected, but in September 2016, CEO Mehmet Nane said he anticipated the airline would bounce back in 2017. Although the situation was already improving by that point, he said the recovery would not be sufficient to offset a poor first half of the year.
Turkey’s airlines have been badly hit by a combination of external factors, including a series of terrorist incidents that have scared away many western European tourists.
Passengers carried in 2016 increased 8.1% YOY to 24.1 million, up from 22.3 million in 2015. The increase was largely attributable to a 10.7% rise in domestic passengers on Pegasus’ extensive internal route network.
Load factor for the year dipped slightly to 78.6%, down from 79% in 2015, as capacity, measured in ASKs, rose 9.1%.
Aircraft daily utilization also slipped in 2016, to 12 hours from 12.5 hours in 2015.
