Pegasus Airlines CEO Güliz Öztürk stated, "After 2022, in 2023, we have recorded a capacity increase well above industry averages. We anticipate closing the year approaching 32 million guests.
Pegasus Airlines CEO Güliz Öztürk stated, "After 2022, in 2023, we have recorded a capacity increase well above industry averages. We anticipate closing the year approaching 32 million guests." Continuing, Öztürk mentioned their projections for 2023, saying, "We expect to close 2023 with a significant increase, well above the industry average, reaching approximately 32 million passenger numbers. We have a growth forecast of 10% to 12% in our total capacity, and we are working on our 2024 budget in line with this."
Güliz Öztürk, in an evaluation with AA news, mentioned that as of December 11, they started flights from Sabiha Gökçen to their third destination in Egypt, Alexandria. In the second half of the month, they will start flights from Sabiha Gökçen to Kutaisi, Dortmund, and Birmingham, from İzmir to Warsaw, and from Antalya to Warsaw and Krakow.
Regarding the expansion of their flight network, Öztürk stated, "As of January 18, we will start flying from Sabiha Gökçen to the capital of Croatia, Zagreb, our 50th country in our flight network, with two frequencies per week. We continue to evaluate new routes all the time."
Öztürk highlighted the rapid rebound in travel demand during the summer season of 2022 after the removal of border restrictions due to COVID-19. She said, "The intense influx of this demand, which has been postponed for a long time, created an important opportunity for transportation and accommodation sector stakeholders ready to meet this demand. We had focused on keeping ourselves ready for the post-pandemic period during the pandemic. We had planned with our colleagues to be ready to meet this demand when demand returned. Ultimately, by providing excellent service to our guests, we closed the year 2022 with a financial performance that stood out globally in our industry and set new records in our own history."
Öztürk emphasized that they are prepared for a normalization in travel demand in 2023 and have made plans accordingly. She expressed that the developments so far are in line with their expectations.
She concluded by stating that after 2022, in 2023, they have recorded a capacity increase well above industry averages and are expected to close the year with a capacity more than 30% higher than pre-COVID levels. Öztürk mentioned, "We anticipate closing the year 2023 approaching 32 million guests, and we are proud to maintain our leading position in the industry in many financial parameters while Europe is just reaching the 2019 levels of total capacity. For 2022, we completed the year at the forefront globally with a realization of 34.1% in EBITDA margin, which we closely monitor in terms of operating profitability performance. For 2023, we have shared our expectation of achieving a similar performance with an EBITDA margin in the 30s with the market and our investors."
We believe in supporting young people to create value for society," said Güliz Öztürk, expressing their commitment to the importance of supporting young people to contribute to society.
Öztürk emphasized the necessity of support for valuable ideas related to empowering youth to be implemented, stating, "With these thoughts, we launched our 'Yarınlara Uçuyoruz' (Flying to Tomorrows) project in 2018. Since the beginning, we have supported numerous projects, and our project continues in the 2023-2024 implementation period."
She highlighted a significant step taken for young girls on the centenary of the Republic, saying, "Knowing that they will perpetuate the Republic forever, we support the education of 1000 female university students in collaboration with the Turkish Education Foundation. In order to support young people in earthquake-prone areas, we made a decision, and 25% of our scholarship recipients come from the provinces affected by earthquakes. With this support, we are proud to be the institution that provides the highest support in a single instance in the history of TEV (Turkish Education Foundation). Our goal is to create a benefit that encompasses young girls who are more likely to deviate from education due to economic reasons, aiming to create value for the future. Our project, which started in the 2023-2024 academic year, will continue until students complete their university education."
"Capacity investments will continue" Öztürk stated that they anticipate the continuation of the normalization process they observed in terms of demand next year. Regarding capacity, she noted that aggressive growth rates in capacity would not be seen in the industry due to ongoing supply chain disruptions. In this regard, she emphasized that supply and demand would remain balanced.
Regarding costs, Öztürk mentioned the continued effects of the global inflationary environment. However, she pointed out that the absence of aggressive growth expectations would provide maneuvering space for stakeholders in the industry to manage these costs.
Drawing attention to the continued renewal of the fleet by taking delivery of new-generation aircraft, Öztürk said, "The contribution of these aircraft to our operations is becoming more pronounced day by day. We have great confidence in the high efficiency of our young fleet consisting of new-generation aircraft in managing potential cost pressures. According to our order schedule, 17 more new-generation aircraft will join our fleet in 2024, meaning our capacity investments will continue. Meanwhile, some of our old-generation aircraft will be phased out of the fleet. We have a growth forecast of 10% to 12% in our total capacity, and we are working on our 2024 budget in line with this.