A Brief History

20.05.1933 Atatürk and Inönü

Turkish Airlines was founded under law no. 2186 in ANKARA under the name"STATE AIRLINES ADMINISTRATION" as a department of the Ministry of Defence.

FLEET
KING BIRD (5 SEATS)
2 JUNKERS F-13 (4 SEATS)
1 ATH-9 (10 SEATS)
1935 The administration was turned over to the Ministry of Public Works
1938 The name was changed to "General Directorate of State Airlines" and was operated under the Ministry of Transportation
1945 DC3 - 1945DC-3 aircraft joined our fleet
1947 First international flight was Ankara-Istanbul-Athens
01.03.1956 TK was reorganised and operated under special legislation. It was then renamed Türk Hava Yolları A.O. with a capital of 60 MILLION TL.
1958-1960 F27 - 1960F-27 anf VISCOUNT aircraft joined our fleet
1967 First DC-9 jet aircraft joined our fleet and the jet age started
1971 B-707 aircraft leased and joined our fleet
1973 Hostess
  • F-27 aircraft replaced with F-28 aircraft
  • DC-10 aircraft joined our fleet
1974 Timetable - 1974B-727 aircraft joined our fleet
1984 The company was reclassified as a"STATE ECONOMIC ENTERPRISE" and the capital was raised to 60 BILLION TL
1985 Advertisement - 1985AIRBUS 310 aircraft joined our fleet
1986 Far East flights started with the addition of the SINGAPORE route to our flight network.
1987 The capital was raised to 150 BILLION TL in July
1988 New York route via Brussels was added to our flight network in August
1990
  • The capital was raised to 700 BILLION TL in March
  • TK was included within the scope of the privatization in September
1991 B737 - 1991
  • B-737 aircraft joined our fleet
  • Registered capital was raised to 2 TRILLION TL in September
1992 Registered capital was raised to 2.5 TRILLION TL in December
1993 A340
  • A-340-300 aircraft joined our fleet in July
  • RJ-100 aircraft joined our fleet in July
  • First class service started on A-340-300 aircraft in August
  • THT (Turkish Air Transportation) incorporated company merged with Turkish Airlines in September
1994
  • Issued capital was raised to 6 TRILLION TL in January
  • Direct New York flights started in July
  • 3rd A-340-300 aircraft joined our fleet in July
  • DC-9 aircraft disposed of from our fleet in September
  • Registered capital was raised to 6 TRILLION TL in November
1995
  • First Class service started on A-310-318 aircraft in February
  • Registered capital was raised to 10 TRILLION TL in March
  • 3 B-727-200 aircraft were converted to cargo aircraft in July, September and November
1996
  • RJ-70 aircraft joined our fleet
  • 4 B-727-200 aircraft disposed of from our fleet in April
  • 4th A-340-300 aircraft joined our fleet
  • Capital was raised to 10 TRILLION TL in May
  • Registered capital was raised to 50 TRILLION TL in December
1997
  • 5th A-340-300 aircraft joined our fleet
  • Block space agreement signed on 31st September with Japan Airlines for Istanbul-Osaka-Istanbul route
1998 The Qualiflyer Group
  • Block space agreement signed with Austrian Airlines for flights from Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir to Vienna in March
  • On March 30th Turkish Airlines became a member of "The Qualiflyer Group"
  • Paid capital was raised to 30 TRILLION TL in June
  • Block space agreement signed with Swissair for flights from Istanbul to Zurich, Geneva and Basel, and from Izmir to Zurich in August
  • Block space agreement signed with Croatian Airlines on Istanbul-Zagreb-Istanbul route in September
  • Block space agreement signed with Japan Airlines on Istanbul-Tokyo-Istanbul route in November
  • First 6 of 26 new generation B-737-800 aircraft joined our fleet in November
1999
  • 9 B737-800 aircraft joined our fleet
  • Turkish Airlines opened its second maintenance center more than doubling its hangar capacity
  • No smoking policy is applied to all our flights in April
  • 6th A340-300 aircraft joined our fleet
  • Code share agreement signed with Malaysian Airlines on Istanbul-Kuala Lumpur-Istanbul route in September
  • Registered capital was raised to 175 TRILLION TL in November
2000 Hostess
  • 7 B-737-800 aircraft joined our fleet
  • Code share agreement with Austrian Airlines ended in March
  • 7th A340-300 aircraft joined our fleet in April
  • Block space agreement signed with Asiana Airlines on Istanbul-Seoul-Istanbul route in May
  • First commercial flight to Sydney was operated for the Olympic Games in September
  • Code share flights started in October to 10 domestic destinations in the USA via New York, Miami and Chicago as a result of an agreement signed with American Airlines at the end of February
  • New Frequent Flyer Program "Miles&Smiles" was launched in October
  • Code share agreement with Malaysian Airlines ended in October
  • Beginning from October 29th
    * Block space agreement with Cathay Pacific Airlines on Istanbul-Hong Kong-Istanbul route
    * Code share agreement with LOT Polish Airlines on Istanbul-Warsaw-Istanbul route
    * Code share agreement with Czech Airlines on Istanbul-Prague-Istanbul route
2001
  • 2 B737-800 aircraft joined our fleet
  • 6 A-310-200 aircraft sold to Iran Air
  • Code Share agreement with Sunexpress signed on Antalya-Frankfurt-Antalya route
  • Ankara flights started from Sabiha Gokcen Airport since January
  • Reservation Call Center (444 0 THY / 444 0 849) service started.
2002
  • 2 B737-800 aircraft joined our fleet
  • Pristina flights started on 15th April
2003
  • Runway maintenance in Adana Sakir Pasa Airport which began on 4th of November 2002 was completed on January 15 and Adana flights began.
  • Because of maintenance, Dalaman Airport closed to flights between 7th and 30th of January. Dalaman flights began on 31st January after maintenance was finished.
  • Johannesburg-Cape Town flights stopped on March 29.
  • Because of the Iraq war, Bahrain flights were stopped on 17th March, Kuwait flights stopped on 20th March. Kuwait and Bahrain flights began again on 1st of May.
  • Hong Kong flights were terminated because of SARS. Our flights began again on 30 June.
  • Beijing and Shanghai flights which were postponed by SARS on April 18, began again on July 16. On 29th July the frequency of these flights increased from 2 to 3 in a week.
  • New Delhi flights started on 18th of September.
  • Sivas flights started on 17th of October.
  • Izmir-Adana-Izmir route started on 2 nd of October.
  • A codeshare Agreement was signed between THY and Air India and Istanbul-New Delhi-Istanbul flights began in conjunction with Air India on 3rd of November.
  • THY was shown to be the most reliable airline in AEA, by having the lowest number of missing bags out of all other AEA member airlines.
  • Seat Restriction implementation on domestic flights for Miles and Smiles members has been stopped.
  • Electronic ticketing implementation began for THY flight crew on 9th December.
  • On domestic flights, the implementation of a 30% discount began for passengers that make an early reservation.
2004
  • Turkish Airlines  made  a TL 214  trillion  net  profit  in  2003.
  • Turkish Airlines  has   started  to  carry a defibrillator on all of its aircraft.
  • Turkish Airlines leased 2 A310  aircraft from World Focus Airlines for periodic use when there is an aircraft shortage until the delivery of ordered aircraft from Airbus and Boeing in August.
  • Turkish Airlines declared TL 23.9 trillion profit on the temporary return of income related to the first half of 2004. According to IATA data, as international air traffic  (20.4%) and seat occupancy (13.2%) increasead, the number of THY’s passengers increased by 22.6%. In the same period, the total number of domestic passengers carried was 6.3 million and THY transported 74% of these passengers.
  • In September, American aircraft manufacturer Boeing, chose the THY Technical Maintenance Center above all other alternatives in the district and signed a 10 year aircraft maintenance agreement. This agreement will provide USD 350 million in income.  Another of the biggest manufacturers, Honeywell, also declared THY’s Maintenance Center as an Authorised Repair and Maintenance Center for acfm56-7b aircraft’s fuel components for the first time in the world.
  • With the opening of Van Airport to all flights after having been closed since 21 July 2004 for re construction, THY started scheduling Van flights as of Saturday, 18 September 2004.
  • The customer online service on the THY website was launched in September - www.turkishairlines.com.tr.
  • THY made a TL 193 trillion( USD 128 million) profit in the first 9 months of the year. The number of the passengers increased by %115.,2% as compared to the previous period.
  • As a result of an the agreement with Pakistan Airlines, THY increased İstanbul-  Karachi weekly flights from two to four weekly whilst . Pakistan Airlines started İslamabad-İstanbul flights three times a weekly. According to theis agreement, Pakistan Airlines has also decided to enter into a make technical cooperation with THY on maintenance.
  • Domestic flights werehave been increased in December and the winter season ticket fares were applied reasonably according to the Revenue Management model, according to the the balance between supply and demand.
  • In the pilgrimage period of this year (15 December-24 February) THY made 623 round-trip flights out of Turkey to for Jeddah and Medina. THY transported nearly 80 thousand pilgrims. 
  • According to a Cunsumer Report declared by AEA in December 2004,; THY was placed the second in Europe in relation to its about “on-time flights” and the. The rates  indicated that THY was succeeded aabove avearage with its about on-time flights. According to this report, THY also had was the second lowest rate for of lost baggage. Based on these results, THY was one of the most successful airlines in Europe.
2005
  • Domestic ticket fares were reduced again on 1 February 2005. According to this arrangement, TL 20.00 discount is offered on many flights.
  • In 2004, THY reached its best figures in its history for the number of passengers carried, seat occupancy and the amount of transported cargo. The number of passengers increased by 15% and rose to 12 million and compared to 2003 a 5% increase was recorded in the total number of flights. Thus, seat occupancy in 2004 exceeded the level of 70%for the first time in the company’s history. The amount of transported cargo rose from 123.400 tons in 2003 to 134.700 tons in 2004. The amount of transported cargo reached its best figures in its history with a 9.1% increase in one year.
  • THY made nearly TL 110 million (TL 110 Trillion) profit after tax
    Because of the renovations in Gaziantep Airport taking place between 3 March and 3 June 2005, THY directed its daily İstanbul-Gaziantep and Ankara-Gaziantep flights to Adana in order to prevent flight shortage. 
  • The annual inspection of the Federal Aviation Authority of the United States took place between 4 February and 18 February and was completely successful. According to the report, many workshops and departments of the THY Maintenance Center were faultless. As a result of this report, the current maintenance certificate has been renewed. The inspection report was given by the unique authority of the United States that pioneers Civil Aviation throughout the world, and it certifies that THY can carry out maintenance on all American civil airlines thereby indicating that the capacity of the maintenance units are perfect.
  • THY started flights in both directions between İstanbul and Casablanca, one of the most important cities of Morocco, four days a week from 27 March.
  • THY’s Casablanca Office was opened with a great celebration on 31 March.
  • Temel Kotil, Ph.D became CEO of THY. Dr. Candan Karlıtekin was elected again as Chairman of the Board. Here are the Members of the Board ( in alphabetical order): Mehmet Büyükekşi, Oğuz Borat, Candan Karlıtekin, Temel Kotil, Hüseyin Atilla Öksüz, Cemal Şanlı, Hamdi Topçu.
  • The Privatization Bureau has 75.17 of THY’s shares  and shareholders and institutions have 24.83% of the shares.
  • The rate of seat occupancy reached the level of 68.9% in the first quarter of 2005 (January-March) The rate of increase in passengers carried increased by 22.6% which was the highest rate for the last 10 years, up from 2416 to 2961 in the same period last year. That’s a record in the first quarter of the year in passengers carried. In the first 3 months of 2004 the amount of transported cargo rose from 27.9 thousand tons in the same period last year to 29.9 thousand tons in 2005.
  • THY has been operating  flights from Sabiha Gökçen Airport on Istanbul’s Asian side since 30 April 2004. Flights in both directions between  Sabiha Gökçen Airport and İzmir, Trabzon, Adana and Antalya which are the most in demand are now in operation.
  • Bilal Ekşi became THY’s Executive V.P. (Ground Operation) on 9 May.
  • THY started flights in both directions between İstanbul and Lisbon, one of the most important cities in Portugal, three times a week from 7 June.
  • THY celebrated its 72th anniversary.
  • THY started flights in both directions between İstanbul and Antalya and London Stansted Airport on 14 June.
  • THY has increased its İstanbul-Kuwait flights from two to four weekly from 1 June.
  • THY gave an opportunity in the summer to university students for “pre-career experience” called “111 Days at THY” THY has increased its İstanbul- Karachi flights from two to four weekly from 5 June.
  • THY started flights to Oslo, the capital of Norway on 21 June.
    It was decided that INPACT INT/CAN INTERNATIONAL SUPERVISION would carry out the independent limited inspection service between 2005 and 2006.
  • Halil Tokel became Executive V.P. (Commercial)
  • THY added Almaata and New Delhi to its cargo service network.
  • THY increased its daily flights in both directions between İstanbul and Konya from one to two, morning and evening.
  • THY has started to carry a defibrillator for use on sudden heart attacks on all A-340 long-range aircraft from August and has trained its crew in its use.
  • In October, THY’s service and image was refreshed. The tulip symbolizes the transformation and  refreshment.
  • THY made TL 27,5 million profit after tax in the first months of 2005.
  • İstanbul-Denizli flights have been operating daily since August.
    THY sponsored the Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival which was held 42nd times.
  • Discounted fares from TL 59.00 have been offered especially for Ramadan.
  • THY started Astana, Kazakhstan flights on 19 October.
  • THY applied a number of precautions, as advised by the “ Security Committe”, in Atatürk Airport from 12 October when Avian Influenza appeared in Turkey.
  • THY undertook the free transportation of aid materials to Pakistan following the major earthquake.
  • THY’s Sport Club Chess Team was first in the Turkey Chess Clubs’ Championship Final in Konya between 28 September and 3 October and was promoted to the Turkey Super League.
  • International World Aviation Authority JAA Maintenance Standardization ( JAA MAST ) gave a report that “ THY was performing at the highest level in terms of Technical Maintenance and Repairement” when it carried out a “flight Safety Inspection” in Turkey.
  • THY has  been offering passengers different price alternatives through its new pricing model since 1 November.
  • THY leased 2 MD-83 aircraft instead of RJ100 aircraft from World Focus Airlines.
  • THY decided to open up 23 new international destinations in view of its increased fleet of 59 new aircraft.
  • THY published its “Customer Satisfaction Survey” for one month on its web site (www.thy.com.tr / www.thy.com) aiming to offer its passengers a higher quality service through its passengers’ demands and suggestions.
  • The Foundations of THY HABOM A.S , THY TEKNİK AS, THY EGİTİM were decided.
  • THY planned to transport 90 thousand candidate pilgrims during the 2006 pilgrimage season.
  • THY started flights in both directions between Ankara and Samsun and also Istanbul and Kars on 17 December 2005.
  • The first 3 aircraft out of the 59 bought from Airbus and Boeing arrived ; the new generation Boeing 737-800, Airbus 320 and the first Airbus 330 in Turkey joined  our fleet on15 December.
  • On 15 December, THY’s counters in Ataturk Airport were re- arranged in order to provide its passengers easy board to the aircraft  without wasting any time.
  • Ankara Esenboga Airport Domestic Terminal (Terminal B) ,was opened for service on 19 December 2005, after all of the reconstruction and maintenance was completed following the fire on 13 November 2005.
  • 59 aircraft were ordered.
2006
  • THY started flights to Ljubljana in Slovenia on 16 January.
  • THY started flights to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates on 22 January.
  • The inspection of the US Civilian Aviation Authority between 23-27 January was successful. As a result of this inspection, the ‘Aircraft Maintenance Authority Certificate’ of THY has been renewed.
  • Turkish Airlines started flights to Dusanbe in Tajikistan on 26 January.
  • Turkish Airlines returned TC-THM, RJ100 aircraft to England on 01 February.
  • THY started flights to Rostov in the Russian Federation 03 February.
  • THY started flights to Sanaa in the Yemen Arab Republic 03 February.
  • THY started flights to Donetsk in Ukranie on 07 February.
  • THY started flights to Tebriz in Iran on 15 February.
  • THY took delivery of TC-JGI, B737-800 aircraft from Boeing.This aircraft landed at Istanbul Atatürk Airport on 26 February at 10:00 AM.
  • THY started flights to Kazan in the Russian Federation on 28 February.
  • Coşkun Kılıç became THY’s  V.P.Financial in March.
  • THY took delivery of TC-JGJ, B737-800 aircraft from Boeing.This aircraft landed at Istanbul Atatürk Airport on 01 March at 10:30 AM.
  • THY started flights to Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro on 13 March.
  • THY started flights to St Petersburg in the Russian Federation on 15 March.
  • THY started flights to Helsinki, Finland on 19 March.
  • THY started flights to Muscat, Oman (via Doha ) on 24 March.
  • THY started flights to Doha, Qatar (via Muscat ) on 24 March.
  • Turkish Airlines returned the TC-THD, RJ100 aircraft to England on 28 March.
  • THY started flights to Venice, Italy on 31 March.
  • THY started flights to Dublin, Ireland on 07 April.
  • THY started flights to Riga, Latvia on 19 April.
  • THY started flights to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (via Khartoum) on 22 April
  • THY started flights to Khartoum, Sudan (via Addis Ababa) on 22 April.
  • THY took delivery of TC-JGK, a B737-800 aircraft from Boeing. This aircraft landed at Istanbul Atatürk Airport on 27 April at 10:15 AM.
  • THY started flights to Yekaterinburg, in the Russian Federation on 26 April.
  • THY took delivery of TC-JLM, an A319-132 aircraft from Airbus. This aircraft landed at Istanbul Ataturk Airport on 27 April.
  • THY took delivery of TC-JGL, a B737-800 aircraft from Boeing.This aircraft landed at Istanbul Ataturk Airport on 28 April.
  • THY took delivery of TC-JLN, an A319-132 aircraft from Airbus.
  • This aircraft landed at Istanbul Ataturk Airport on 28 April.
  • THY started flights to Dnipropetrovsk in the Ukraine on 28 April.
  • The inspection known as the IOSA Program, which is the aviation security standard, was completely successful. According to this inspection, Turkish Airlines was the first ‘‘ IOSA Operator ’’ in Turkey.
  • THY started flights to Mumbai, India on 05 May.
  • THY started selling tickets over the phone.
  • Istanbul Technical University – Turkish Airlines’ Technical Design Office opened and began its activity under the Istanbul Technical University Aeronautical and Space Science Faculty.
  • THY took delivery of TC-JNC, an A330-203 aircraft from Airbus. This aircraft landed at Istanbul Ataturk Airport on 11 May.
  • THY took delivery of TC-JGM, a B737-800 aircraft from Boeing.
  • This aircraft landed at Istanbul Ataturk Airport on 18 May.
  • THY’s new CIP lounge was opened at Atatürk Airport in May 2006
    A new company of THY with the name ‘‘Technic INC.’’ was founded on 23.05.2006 with 100% percent share held by THY. The company is founded with the 271.325.800 TL capital.
  • THY started flights to Minsk, Belarus, on 25 May.
  • THY took delivery of TC-JGN, a B737-800 aircraft from Boeing.
  • This aircraft landed at Istanbul Ataturk Airport on 28 May.
  • THY started flights to Osaka, Japan on 14 June.
  • THY President and Chief Executive Officer Temel Kotil attended IATA’s Membership of the Board of Governors on June 2006.
  • THY took the ISO 9001:2000 Quality Certificate on 19 June.
  • THY took delivery of TC-JGO and TC-JGP, two B737-800 aircraft from Boeing. These aircraft landed at Istanbul Ataturk Airport on 30 June.
  • Turkish Airlines returned TC-THE, a RJ100 aircraft to England on 06 July.
  • THY took delivery of TC-JRA, an A321-231 aircraft from Airbus.
  • This aircraft landed at Istanbul Ataturk Airport on 13 July.
  • THY started flights to Lagos, Nigeria on 27 July.
  • THY took delivery of TC-JGR and TC-JGS, two B737-800 aircraft from Boeing. These aircraft landed at Istanbul Ataturk Airport on 28 July.
  • THY took delivery of TC-JND, an A330-203 aircraft from Airbus.
  • This aircraft landed at Istanbul Ataturk Airport on 29 June.
  • THY took delivery of TC-JNE, an A330-203 aircraft from Airbus.T
  • This aircraft landed at Istanbul Ataturk Airport on 29 July.
  • THY started direct flights to Singapore from 1 August 2006.
  • Due to the Code-Share Agreement signed between THY and Kenya Airways(KQ) Nairobi-İstanbul-Nairobi flights were started from 1 August 2006.
  • THY decided to join the Star Alliance on 4 August.
2007 THY started flights to Batum on 29 May.

THY started flights to Johannesburg and Cape Town on 18 September.

THY started flights to Medinah on 11 November.

THY started flights to Nevsehir on 8 March.

THY started flights to Eskisehir on 21 June.

THY started flights to Hatay on 10 December.
2008 THY started flights to Aleppo on 15 May.

THY started flights to Merzifon on June.

THY started flights to Sinop on 15 July.

THY started flights to Birmingham on 15 December.

THY started flights to Baghdad on 26 October.
2009 THY started flights to Usak on 12 January.

THY started flights to Canakkale on 19 January.

THY started flights to Nairobi on 23 February.

THY started flights to Ufa on 5 March.

THY started flights to Mashad on 15 March.

THY started flights to Dakar - Sao Paolo on 5 April.

THY started flights to Benghazi on 5 May.

THY started flights to Goteburg on 29 June.

THY started flights to Toronto on 11 July.

THY started flights to Lviv on 27 July.

THY started flights to Jakarta on 3 August.
2010

THY started flights to Accra  on 15 July.

THY started flights to Bologna   on  01 March.

THY started flights to Dar es Salaam on  14 June.

THY started flights to Entebbe on  14 June.

THY started flights to Nakhichevan on  24 June.

THY started flights to Podgorica on  08 July.

THY started flights to Sochi  on  25 May.

THY started flights to Washington on  07 November.