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1933-1945

Establishment

1933

  • The "State Airlines Administration" operating under the supervision of the Ministry of National Defense has been established on the 20th of  May. 
  • The initial budget of the organization headed by one of the first Turkish aviators Mr. Fesa Evrensev was 180 thousand Turkish Liras and the organization employed a total of 24 personnel comprised of seven pilots, eight mechanics, eight officers and a radio operator. 
  • The first fleet comprised of 2 King Birds (having 5 seats), 2 Junkers F-13 (having 4 seats) and an ATH-9 (having 10 seats).

1934

  • Retired pilot commissioned officer Aynî Bey has replaced Mr. Evrensev's position as director general.

1935

  • The Administration started operating under the Ministry of Public Works which at the time was called "Nafia Vekâleti".

1936

  • Mr. Sevket Ari has become the director general.
  • With new aircraft purchases, the number of airplanes in the fleet had risen to eight, the number of seats reached 64 and the budget was increased to 1 million Liras. 

1938

  • Mr. Sevket Ari has become the director general.
  • With new aircraft purchases, the number of airplanes in the fleet had risen to eight, the number of seats reached 64 and the budget was increased to 1 million Liras. 

1943

  • 6 D-Havilland Domini airplanes have joined the fleet. 

1944

  • 5 adet Junkers 52 uçağı filoya katıldı. Koltuk sayısı 185'e çıktı.

1945

  • With the addition of 30 Douglas DC-3s and 3 C-47s, the number of aircraft in the fleet reached 52 and the seating capacity has been increased to 845. Thus, the number of cities flown to, which was three at the time, has increased to 19 cities. 

1946-1956

The Rise of Turkish Airlines

1946

  • The State Airlines Department has been renamed as the General Directorate of the State Airlines Administration and veteran pilot colonel Osman Nuri Baykal has been appointed as the director general. 

1947

  • The first international voyage "Ankara-Istanbul-Athens" was flown on the 12th of February. 
  • Emphasis has been placed on advertisements and promotions to increase the number of passengers. 

1951

  • The destinations of Nicosia, Beirut and Cairo have been included in the flight schedule of the fleet which now had a total of 33 aircraft and a seating capacity of 720 seats. 

1953

  • The first Hadj voyages have been made. The citizens who attended the Hadj pilgrimage have been offered a more comfortable and faster means of transportation.
  • The construction of the international airport which was decided to be built with the ratification of the Chicago Agreement has been completed and put into service in the Yesilkoy district of Istanbul. The airport possessed a runway built according to internationally accepted standards, a modern passenger terminal, maintenance hangars and electronic radio equipment. 

1954

  • Mr. Riza Cercel has been appointed as the director general. 

1955

  • On the 21st of May, the title "General Directorate of the State Airlines Administration" has been changed by Law number 6623 to its current name: Turkish Airlines. 

1956-1967

Incorporation

1956

  • The Turkish Airlines Inc. has been established on the 1st of March with a capital stock of 60 million TL .
  • Turkish Airlines has become a member of IATA (International Air Transport Association) which was established in order to accommodate commercial, technical, managerial and economic cooperation and to prevent unfair competition among its members. 

1957

  • BOAC (the British Overseas Airways Corporation) has become a partner of Turkish Airlines with 6.5% equity after Turkish Airlines was opened to foreign capital investments. The BOAC director general Sir George Cribbett has been appointed as a Member of the Board of Directors of Turkish Airlines.
  • Turkish Airlines has become a member of SITA (Airlines Worldwide Telecommunications and Information Services) which is an international organization that provides communication services to airlines.
  • The fleet was comprised of 28 aircraft including 19 DC-3 and 7 Heron passenger planes and 2 C-47 cargo planes. 

1958

  • 5 Viscount 794 aircraft have joined the fleet. A new era has begun in the history of civil aviation with the switch from piston engines to jet propelled engines.
  • The number of passengers carried has doubled in comparison with the number of passengers carried in the year 1956 and has reached 394 thousand.

1959

  • The Rome and Athens sales offices have been established. 

1960

  • 6 new F-27 aircraft joined the fleet. 
  • The Frankfurt destination was added to the currently served Ankara-Istanbul-Athens route.

1961

  • The Ankara-Istanbul-Vienna-Frankfurt route was launched and three voyages were made to the destination each week. 
  • First pilots Zihni Barin and Nurettin Gurun have brought 2 F-27 aircraft from the USA to Istanbul crossing the Atlantic in a 30 hour flight. 
  • The Wild Goose emblem designed by Mesut Manioglu has been granted first place in the competition and has begun to be used as the airline's logo. 

1962

  • Veteran Major General Sahap Metel has been appointed as the director general. During this period, the number of aircraft in the fleet has reached 34, and the number of seats has been increased to 1,120. 

1964

  • The Brussels, Munich and Tel Aviv route were launched. 

1965

  • The Amsterdam, Belgrade and Tabriz route were launched. 

1967 - 1980

Transition to the Jet Era and Overseas Expansion

1967

  • 3 McDonnell Douglas DC-9 airplanes were added to the fleet of which 1 had been chartered. 
  • The first international jet flight has been realized on the Ankara-Istanbul-Brussels line on the 1st of September. 
  • The Zurich, Budapest and Geneva route have been put into service.
  • The demand for fuel which was supplied by a foreign company has begun to be supplied by Petrol Ofisi through a new agreement. 

1968

  • In 1967, the airline's capital stock of 90 million TL has been increased to 200 million TL.

1969

  • The Cologne route has been put into service.
  • 2 DC-9 airplanes joined the fleet. 

1970

  • 4 more DC-9 airplanes joined the fleet. 

1971

  • The Düsseldorf and Stuttgart route have been put into service.
  • The fleet was comprised of a total of 22 aircraft namely; 3 Viscount, 7 F-27, 8 DC-9-30, 1 DC-9-10 and 3 B-707 jet airplanes and had a total seating capacity of 1,961 seats.

1972

  • The Hannover and Hamburg route have been put into service.
  • 2 DC-10 airplanes have joined the fleet and the total seating capacity has increased to 2,669. 
  • Capital stock has been increased by 100% from 200 million to 400 million Liras. 

1973

  • The journey that has begun 40 years ago with 24 personnel has become a giant family of 4,437 members. 
  • 5 F-28 aircraft have joined the fleet and the number of airplanes in the fleet has reached 26.
  • The Copenhagen, Berlin and Nurnberg route have been put into service. 
  • The number of passengers carried has increased from 528 thousand in 1967 to 2.5 million in 1973.

1974

  • On December 4th, the Cyprus Turkish Airlines has been established with the 50% partnership of Turkish Airlines. 
  • 3 McDonnell Douglas DC-10 (Double corridor, 345 seat capacity) aircraft has been purchased and the airline has become the first customer of these airplanes in Europe. 

1977

  • Customers' requests and complaints have been gathered through surveys conducted in domestic flights.
  • THY which had been opened for foreign capital investments 20 years ago has again been nationalized with the decision of the Ministry of Finance dated 17.2.1977 and numbered 53315/6967 and the share of the BOAC company was bought by the Ministry of Finance. 

1978

  • The Baghdad, Tehran, Dhahran and Tripoli route have been put into service. 
  • The fleet comprised of 22 airplanes with a seating capacity of 3,306 seats and the number of passengers carried has reached approximately 3 million. 

1980-1990

Growth

1980

  • The Cairo route was put into service.

1982

  • The airline became an international aviation organization possessing 27 aircraft, 3.-909 seats and 5.-735 personnel. 

1983

  • On the 50th year of its establishment, the airline was operating in 3 continents with a seating capacity of 4.-037 seats and has carried 30 thousand tons of cargo and 2.5 million passengers with its 30 aircraft. 
  • The number of personnel employed has reached 5.-775. 
  • The first in flight magazine was published by the name of “THY Magazine”.

1984

  • The airline's capital stock which had been 60 million TL in 1955 has reached 20 billion TL in 1982 and 60 billion TL in 1984. 
  • The airline attained the status of a state owned enterprise.  

1985

  • Far East and Transatlantic flights have begun with the addition of 4 Airbus A310s to the fleet. 
  • The implementation of First Class services has begun in the Jeddah and London flights and was later incorporated into other flights.  
  • The Information Processing Center in the Ataturk Airport has been put into service. All reservation and lost baggage transaction have begun to be managed in an electronic environment. 

1986

  • Flights begun to the Far East with the opening of the Singapore route in the month of June. 

1987

  • Capital stock has been increased to 150 billion TL in the month of July. 
  • The New Delhi, Kuala Lumpur and Lyon route have been put into service and the number of overseas destinations served has been increased to 42.
  • The number of international passengers has reached 1 million and the total number of passengers exceeded 3.5 million.

1988

  • The Helsinki, Tunisia, Algiers, Oslo, Basel and New York route have been put into service. The 4th continent has begun to be served with the New York flights. 

1989

  • The Baggage Handling System (BAHAMAS) has begun to be implemented in order to provide rapid baggage services. 
  • The Tokyo, Bangkok and Moscow route have been put into service.
  • 2 Airbus aircraft have joined the fleet.
  • THY Magazine was renamed Skylife.
  • The SunExpress Airlines has been established with the equal partnership of Turkish Airlines and Lufthansa Airlines. 

1990 - 2003

Overseas Expansion

1990

  • The airline's capital stock has reached 700 billion TL in the month of March. 
  • 5% of the airline has been offered to the public after the airline has been included within the scope of the privatization plan. 
  • The airline was attached to the State Partnership Administration.
  • The Benghazi and Budapest route have been put into service.

1991

  • B-737s have joined the fleet.
  • The airline's capital stock has reached 2 trillion TL in September. 

1992

  • The airline's capital stock has reached 2 trillion TL in the month of December.
  • A total of 69 destinations were served of which 14 were domestic and 55 international destinations.
  • The internal and external designs of the planes have been changed and the outfits of the flight and ground personnel  have been renewed. 
  • Catering services have been increased and diet service and multiple-choice menu practice has begun to be implemented in overseas flights. 
  • The Bahrain and Strasbourg route have been put into service.
  • A total of 8 new aircraft; namely, 6 B737-400s and 2 B737-500s  have joined the fleet. 

1993

  • A total of 78 destinations were served of which 23 were domestic and 55 international destinations.
  • The fleet was renewed and the average age of the aircraft in the fleet was reduced to 6,2 years. 
  • In July, A-340-300s and RJ-100s have joined the fleet. 
  • 11 Boeing 737s and 2 Airbus 340-300 aircraft have joined the fleet. With the addition of the Airbus 340s, direct flights were made to Tokyo and three different classes of services had begun to be offered; namely, First Class, Business Class and Economy Class.

1994

  • Capital stock has reached 6 trillion TL in the month of January. 
  • In July, 3 more A-340-300s have joined  the fleet. 
  • On the day of 27 November, the airline has been put under the supervision of the R.O.T. Prime Ministry Directorate of the  Privatization Administration within the scope of Law number 4046 and has attained the status of state owned enterprise. 

1995

  • In February, First Class services have begun to be rendered in the A-310-318s. 
  • In March, the registered capital stock had reached 10 trillion TL.
  • 3 B737-400s and 2 RJ-100s, 1 A340, 7 B737-400s and 3 RJ-100s have joined the fleet. 
  • The Canakkale, Bodrum and Tokat lines have been added to the domestic destinations served; while the Osaka and Tirana lines have been added to the international destinations served. 
  • 3 of the B-727-200 airplanes have been converted to cargo planes. 

1996

  • The www.thy.com website has been put into service. 
  • The airline's capital stock reached 50 trillion TL.
  • The Konya, Sinop and Kahramanmaras route have been added to the domestic destinations served; while the Tbilisi, Sarajevo and Johannesburg route have been added to the international destinations served. 
  • While 4 new A340-300 planes joined the fleet, 4 B-727-200 airplanes were removed from the fleet. 
  • In the month of December, the registered capital stock had reached 50 trillion TL.
  • The Airbus company awarded THY with the “Company that utilizes A340 aircraft in the most efficient manner in the world" award. and THY pilots have been appointed in the Airbus company as training pilots. 

1997

  • 5 A340-300 aircraft joined the fleet. 
  • On the 31st of October, a Block Space agreement has been concluded with the Japanese Airlines on the Istanbul-Osaka-Istanbul route. 

1998

  • On the 30th of March, a new partnership has been formed among the 5 largest airlines in Europe by the name of “The Qualiflyer Group”. 
  • A Block Space agreement has been signed with Austrian Airlines in March for flights from Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir to Vienna.
  • A Block Space agreement has been signed with Swissair in August for flights from Istanbul to Zurich, Geneva and Basel and flights from Izmir to Zurich. 
  • A Block Space agreement has been signed with Croatian Airlines in October for flights on the Istanbul-Zagreb-Istanbul line. 
  • A Block Space agreement has been signed with Japanese airlines in November for the Istanbul-Tokyo-Istanbul line. 
  • 6 new generation B-737-800 airplanes have joined the fleet in November. 
  • The airline has been granted the First Place Golden Plaque by the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce as the organization that has brought the most foreign currency into Turkey.  

1999

  • With the addition of 9 B737-800 and 6 A340-300 aircraft, the structure of the fleet turned into a fleet comprised of 75 aircraft of three different types, carrying an annual number of 10,6 million passengers.
  • In September, a Code Share agreement has been signed with the Malaysian Airlines on the Istanbul-Kuala Lumpur-Istanbul route. 
  • In November, the registered capital stock has been increased to 175 trillion TL.

2000

  • 7 B-737-800 and A340-300 aircraft joined the fleet. 
  • The Code Share agreement signed with Austrian Airlines has ceased to remain in force at the end of March. 
  • A Block Space agreement has been concluded with Asiana Airlines in the month of May for the Istanbul-Seoul-Istanbul route. 
  • In September, the first commercial flight was launched to Sydney with the Olympic games. 
  • In October, Code Share flights with have begun with the participation of American Airlines that have provided connections to 10 domestic destinations from New York, Miami and Chicago.
  • In October, the special airline passenger program “Miles&Smiles” has started to render its services.
  • As of the 29th of October; a Block Space agreement has been concluded with Cathay Pacific Airlines for the Istanbul-Hong Kong-Istanbul route, a Code Share agreement has been concluded with Polish Airlines for the Istanbul-Warsaw-Istanbul route and a Code Share agreement has been concluded with Czech Airlines for the Istanbul-Prague-Istanbul route. 
  • Flights have begun to important cities in the Far East like Shanghai and Seoul.

2001

  • 2 B-737-800 airplanes have joined the fleet and 6 A310-200 aircraft were sold to Iran Air. 
  • A Code Share agreement has been concluded with SunExpress on the Antalya-Frankfurt-Antalya route. 
  • Flights to Ankara from the Sabiha Gokcen Airport have begun as of the 29th of January. 
  • Reservation Call Center ( 444 0 THY/444 0 849) has commenced its operations.

2002

  • 2 B-737-800 airplanes have joined the fleet.
  • The Prishtina route has been put into service.

2003 - ...

Global Brand

2003

  • The New Delhi route has been put into service on the 18th of September, and the Sivas route has been put into service on the 17th of October. 
  • The Istanbul-New Delhi-Istanbul flights have been put into service with the partnership of Air India as of the 3rd of November within the scope of the Code Share agreement signed with Air India. 
  • On 9 December Tuesday, electronic tickets have been put into service. 
  • The use of online check-in procedures have commenced.

2004

  • The number of passengers carried has exceeded 12 million.
  • In September, Boeing has signed a ten year maintenance agreement with the Turkish Airlines Technical Service Center.
  • In September, Turkish Airlines has put into service the "Customer Relations Online Service Center" where customers could voice their opinions and complaints over the www.turkishairlines.com.tr address.
  • According to the consumer report published by the Association of European Airlines in December; THY has been ranked number two among the companies in Europe with regards to the timely takeoff of its flights and least amount of lost baggage. 

2005

  • According to the annual audit report of the Federal Aviation Authority of the USA (FAA) completed between the dates of 14-18 February, many workshops and units of the THY Maintenance Center have been found to have zero (0) faults. 
  • On the 27th of March, the Casablanca route has been put into service followed by the Lisbon route on the 7th of June, the Oslo route on the 21st of June and the Astana rotue on the 19th of October. 
  • Doc. Dr. Temel Kotil has been appointed as the director general  of Turkish Airlines on the 18th of April. 
  • On the 14th of June, flights from Istanbul and Antalya to the Stansted Airport in London have been put into service.
  • 27.5 million TL profit before taxes has been earned in the first six months of 2005.
  • In 'Aviation Safety Assessment' conducted in Turkey by the World Aviation Authority JAA MAST, THY has been reported as “Operating under the highest performance with regards to technical maintenance and repair".
  • With the new model implemented as of the 1st of November, passengers have begun to be offered different price alternatives. 
  • The airline has realized the largest aircraft purchasing transaction in its history by adding a total of 59 aircraft to its fleet by purchasing 36 A-330-200, A-321-200 and A-320-200 aircraft from the Airbus company and 23 B-737-800s from the Boeing company. 
  • A decision has been made to serve 23 new international destinations. 
  • In 28 November, a decision has been passed for THY HABOM A.S., THY TEKNIK A.S. and the THY EGITIM A.S. to be established.
  • On the 15th of December, the first three aircraft of the total of 59 aircraft ordered from the Airbus and Boeing companies, namely; the new generation Boeing 737-800, Airbus A320 and Turkey's first Airbus A330 have joined the fleet. 

2006

  • The special airline passenger program Miles&Smiles members have been offered advantages  with four different types of cards.
  • The 100th aircraft has joined the fleet.
  • A decision has been made to join the global airlines alliance " Star Alliance" of which official membership will be granted in 2008. 
  • The Ljubljana route has been put into service in the 16th of January, followed by the Abu Dhabi route on the 22nd of January, Dushanbe route on 26 January, Rostov and Sana route on February 3rd, Donetsk on February 7th, Tabriz route on February 15th, Kazan route on February 28th, Belgrade route on March 13th, St. Petersburg line on March 15th, Helsinki route on March 19th, Muscat route (connection from Doha) on March 24th, Venice route on the 31st of March, Dublin line on April 7th, Riga line on April 19th, Addis Ababa line (connection from Khartoum) and the Sudan Khartoum route (connection from Addis Ababa) on the 22nd of April, Yekaterinburg route on the 26th of April, Dneprepetrovsk route on the 28th of April, the Mumbai route on the 5th of May, Minsk route on the 25th of May, Osaka route of the 14th of June and finally the Lagos route on the 27th of July. 
  • In the month of April, Turkish Airlines has successfully passed the Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) Program which is an aviation security standard to become Turkey's first “IOSA OPERATOR".
  • Tickets were started to be sold over the phone. 
  • The ITU-THY Technical Design Office has been established and has commenced its operations under the ITU Faculty of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
  • Turkish Airlines, which has announced its fundamental principles as being “quality” and “placing people first”, has adopted a new approach and made an addition to its innovations regarding its in-flight offerings through a partnership formed with Do&Co A.S.
  • On the 23rd of May, a company with the commercial title Türk Hava Yolları Teknik A.Ş. has been established with 271.325.800 TL real capital of which 100% of the shares were under the ownership of Turkish Airlines to operate mainly in the area of technical aircraft equipment and components. 
  • Turkish Airlines has been granted the ISO 9001:2000 quality certificate on the 19th of June. 
  • In June, Turkish Airlines Director General Mr. Temel Kotil has been appointed as a member of  IATA.
  • Direct flights have been made to Singapore since August 1. 
  • Nairobi-Istanbul-Nairobi flights have started as of the 1st of August as a result of an agreement signed between THY and Kenya Airways.
  • Turkish Airlines has decided to become a member of Star Alliance on the 4th of August. 
  • A new practice has been launched on 18 August allowing passengers without baggage to print out their boarding cards over the internet. 
  • On the 9th of December, an agreement protocol regarding THY’s participation in the Star Alliance has been signed between Turkish Airlines and Star Alliance in a ceremony. 

2007

  • The Nevsehir route has begun operating on the 8th of March, followed by the Batumi route on May 29, the Istanbul-Johannesburg-Capetown route which has been put into service the same day, the Istanbul-Hatay route one the 10th of December, Medina on the 11th of November and the Eskisehir route on the 21st of June.
  • Turkish Airlines has been granted the “National Quality Award” in aviation. 

2008

  • Turkish Airlines has made the connection between Anatolia and the Nation's capital easier and economical to access through the establishment of Anadolujet on the 23rd of April. 
  • The Alleppo line has been put into service on the 15th of May, followed by the Merzifon route on the 23rd of June, the Sinop route on the 15th of July, the Birmingham route on the 15th of December and finally the Baghdad route on the 26th of October. 
  • Turkish Airlines has joined the global airline alliance of Star Alliance.

2009

  • Promotional works have commenced with the slogan “Feel Like A Star”.
  • The Usak route has been put into service on the 12th of January, followed by the Canakkale route on the 19th of January, Nairobi route on the 23rd of February, the Ufa route on the 5th of March, Mashhad on the 15th of March, Dakar-Sao Paolo on the 5th of April, Benghazi route on the 5th of May, the Goteborg route on the 29th of June, the Toronto route on the 11th of July, the Lviv route on the 27th of July and finally the Jakarta route on the 3rd of August.

2010

  • The Accra route has been put into service on the 15th of July, followed by the Bologna route on March the 1st, Dar es Salaam and Entebbe route on the 14th of June, the Nakhchivan route on the 24th of June, the Podgorica route on the 8th of July, the Sochi route on the 25th of May and finally the Washington route on the 7th of November. 
  • Turkish Airlines has been ranked first by Skytrax with regards to its offerings in the economy class.

2011

  • The Guangzhou route has been put into service on the 31st of January, followed by the Shiraz route on the 14th of March, the Valencia route on the 27th of March, the Erbil route on the 12th of Aril, the Toulouse line on the 16th of April, the Malaga line on the 27th of April, the Genova route on the 4th of May, the Basra route on the 11th of May, the Thessaloniki  route on the 27th of May, the Napoli route on the 28th of June and finally the Torino route on the 2nd of August. 
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