"The political and economic instability over the operating environment, especially in Europe and Middle East, and the increased perception of global and regional risks had negative impacts on aviation demand and placed pressure on yields" read the statement.
"Moreover, increased capacity led by low fuel prices and increased competition also affected ticket prices and total revenue. As a result, Turkish Airlines recorded 444 million lira loss from its main operations in the first nine months of 2016" it added.
In the first nine months of 2016, Turkish Airlines realized a capacity growth of 14 percent, available seat/km, despite the competitive environment and the geopolitical instability affecting direct traffic into Turkey and Europe, the company said. "Thanks to having one of the largest networks in the world and the ability to reach secondary cities, Turkish Airlines could achieve active demand management" it added.
"During the period of January-September, international passenger revenue achieved exceeded the budgeted revenue. Despite the decrease in the number of point-to-point passenger, 18 percent increase in the number of transit passengers contributed to this result. Furthermore, with the increased service quality, Turkish Airlines scored 2.9 billion lira cargo revenues with an increase of 11 percent year on year" said the company, adding that total number of passengers reached to 48.3 million with a 4 percent increase as of September 2016.
Turkish Airlines operated 357 thousand flights in the first nine months of 2016, in line with its long-term growth strategy, Turkish Airlines reached an asset size of 55.7 billion TRY with an increase of 17 percent, it said.
"In the first nine months of 2016, decreasing its unit cost by 7 percent, Turkish Airlines maintained its lower cost structure compared to its peers. The cost-cutting initiatives had a significant contribution to this success" THY said.
"As a part of its long term growth strategy Turkish Airlines aims to benefit from Istanbul’s geographical advantage as a natural aviation hub and reach a fleet size of 500 aircrafts and over 3 percent global market share" THY said. "In this context, Turkish Airlines is planning to reach a market share of 2 percent by the end of the year. Turkish Airlines, as the biggest exporter in Turkey, will continue to maintain its cash generating ability and manage its healthy growth."