Turkish Airlines: Flying Steadily Even Through Rough Weather!

Turkish Airlines was troubled by many factors ever since its inception

. The lack of international presence and the accidents and hijackings it had to endure made sure that the airline never really took off as a favorite. Over the years a new government did try its best to infuse capital as well as new working methods for the revival of the airline. But just as things were looking better, a war broke out.

The Persian Gulf War and the troubles it brought along for airliners in the region affected Turkish Airlines in a big way. The loss in business due to the war, accompanied by the heavy payments the airline had to make for its enlarged fleet took the airline on a downward spiral, a spiral it could recover from only in the year 1994.

Soon after, flights to North America, including a non-stop flight to New York in 1994 saw the airline book a profit of USD 6 million. The inflation rates in the country however took away most of the sweetness of this profit.

The world soon saw many countries opening up their skies to outside competition. Turkey had to do the same and saw increased competition, both on the domestic as well as the international front. To combat this detrimental development, Turkish Airlines entered into agreements with many other airlines which allowed them to share each other's routes. Japan Airlines, SwissAir, Croatian Airlines, and Austrian Airlines were all part deals with Turkish Airlines.

The new millennium saw the inauguration of a new terminal at the Ataturk International Airport in Istanbul and further mutually beneficial agreements with many other airlines like LOT Polish Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Asiana Airlines, Czech Airlines, Malaysian Airlines and American Airlines. The year 2001 saw another economical crisis which the airline fought tooth and nail against.

The SARS epidemic and the Iraq War further posed problems to the airline which was by now quite adept at handling crisis! Soon after these factors ebbed, Turkish Airlines started picking up from where it left off and brought about a substantial increase in the number of flights on its already existing routes and adding new ones.

The year 2004 saw the airline undergo another revamping exercise in terms of its fleet with orders being placed to the tune of 36 aircraft from Airbus and 15 more from Boeing. The year also saw the airline making a conscious push towards success by spending USD 350 million on the Sabiha Gokcen International Airport by building into it a technical hub as well as a training facility.

After a troubled past that saw the airline emerging victorious every single time, today, Turkish Airlines is among the best airlines in the world, even winning the Best Airline in Europe Award for the year 2012!

by: priya joshi

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