Pegasus Airlines

Pegasus Airlines
IATA code :	Pc
ICAO code :	PGT
Call sign :	SUNTURK
Founding:	1989
Seat:	Istanbul , Turkey
Turnstile :	Istanbul-Sabiha Gokcen Izmir-Adnan Menderes Ankara-Esenboğa Antalya Airport
Home airport :	Istanbul-Sabiha Gokcen
Company form:	A.Ş.
IATA prefix code :	624
Management:	Mehmet Tevfik Nane ( CEO )
Number of employees:	5,621 (December 31, 2018)
Sales:	₺ 8.297 billion (2018)
Passenger volume:	29.97 million (2018)
Frequent Flyer Program :	Pegasus BolBol
Fleet size:	87 (+ 61 orders)
Aims:	National and international
Website:	www.flypgs.com

Pegasus Airlines ( Turkish: Pegasus Hava Taşımacılığı A.Ş. ) is a Turkish low-cost airline based in Istanbul and based at Istanbul-Sabiha Gökçen Airport .

history

Foundation and first years

Pegasus Airlines was founded in December 1989 by the Irish Aer Lingus together with the Turkish companies Silkar Holding and Net Holding. Flight operations began in May of the following year with two aircraft, and in April the first flight to Berlin-Tegel took place with a Boeing 737-400 . But due to the Second Gulf War , most of the estimated tourists to Turkey stayed away.

From 1992, the number of tourists returning to the country increased, and Pegasus Airlines was able to expand. The fleet consisted of three Boeing 737-400s and two Airbus A320s . In the low-volume winter months, individual aircraft were used on wet leases for North American airlines and tour operators. After two very successful years, Aer Lingus and Net Holding decided to sell Pegasus Airlines to Yapı Kredi Bankası. This made Pegasus Airlines a fully Turkish company.

From the beginning, Pegasus Airlines u. a. from Germany, Austria and Switzerland to various destination airports in Turkey. The first domestic Turkish scheduled flights were started in November 2005, and a national route network was gradually built up. Since the winter timetable period 2006/2007, numerous flights abroad, especially to Düsseldorf, have been offered all year round and in scheduled operations. Istanbul's Sabiha Gökçen Airport acts as a hub from which passengers are offered numerous connections. In 1997 Pegasus Airlines ordered an additional Boeing 737-400 and a Boeing 737-800 , making them the first Turkish airline to use the Boeing 737 NG . Shortly thereafter, a purchase agreement followed for the next ten Boeing 737-800s, which from 2002 were also equipped with winglets to save fuel.

Development since 2000

737-400 of Pegasus Airlines in older livery

In January 2005, ESAS Holding took over Pegasus Airlines and appointed Ali Sabancı as CEO of the airline. Just two months later, he changed the concept of Pegasus Airlines, and a charter airline became an airline that offers scheduled and charter flights at affordable prices.

Three Boeing 737-500s joined the fleet in 2005 and were primarily used for national routes with less traffic. In November 2005, Pegasus Airlines ordered twelve new Boeing 737-800s, which were supplemented by another twelve of the same type in 2008. In 2007, Pegasus Airlines carried more passengers than any other private Turkish airline. In 2008 it was 4.4 million passengers, making Pegasus the largest private airline in Turkey. In December 2012, Pegasus Airlines placed a major order for 75 aircraft from the Airbus A320neo family , which include an additional 25 options.

In the same year the company acquired a stake in the Kyrgyz Air Manas , which operated under the Pegasus Asia brand until 2015 . In 2016, Pegasus ordered 5 additional new Boeing 737-800s, a year later Pegasus also exercised the option for 25 new Airbus A321neo.

Takeover of Izair

On March 20, 2007, ESAS Holding , to whose corporate group Pegasus Airlines belongs, acquired 49% of the shares.

In 2011, Izair operated under the name Air Berlin Turkey after Pegasus Airline and Air Berlin entered into a cooperation. The Izair planes were repainted in the colors of the Air Berlin planes, with the addition of "Turkey". This project ended in 2013 after both airlines were dissatisfied with the development.

In December 2018, Pegasus Airlines increased its stake in Izair , which means that Izair is now practically entirely owned by Pegasus Airlines. The planes now fly in the livery of the parent company, but differ in their license plates. These six Boeing 737-800s are also stationed in Izmir. By taking over Izair, which is based in Izmir, in 2007, Pegasus Airlines has secured many lucrative routes and thus opened a new hub. Since then, this hub has been steadily expanded.

Expansion of the route network

Pegasus Airlines is now Turkey's second largest airline. With the large number of new aircraft that have been ordered, they have expanded their route network correspondingly rapidly. In addition to the home airport of Istanbul and Izmir, which was added as a hub through the takeover of Izair, Ankara and Antalya are other important bases.

After Turkish Airlines founded its low-cost airline AnadoluJet, Pegasus Airlines responded and stationed 10 aircraft in Ankara. At first only domestic cities were served, but now they also offer flights abroad.

Antalya has gained importance in Russia and Ukraine in recent years. Pegasus Airlines opened its fourth hub there and stationed several aircraft during the summer months. The Turkish low-cost airline offers flights from Russia, Ukraine, Iran, Israel, Northern Cyprus and Germany to Antalya. Numerous Turkish cities are also served.

Destinations

Pegasus Airlines offers charter and scheduled flights to more than 70 locations. In addition to domestic Turkish destinations, there are also destinations in Europe and the Middle East.

In the German-speaking region, Berlin , Düsseldorf , Frankfurt , Hamburg , Hanover , Cologne / Bonn , Leipzig / Halle , Munich , Münster / Osnabrück , Nuremberg , Stuttgart , Vienna , Zurich , Basel , Graz , Linz and Salzburg are served.

fleet

Airbus A320-200 of Pegasus Airlines

Current fleet

As of May 2020, the Pegasus Airlines fleet consists of 87 aircraft with an average age of 5.1 years:

Aircraft type	number	Orders	Remarks	Seats	Average age
Airbus A320-200	12		10 with Sharklets equipped	180	6.3 years
Airbus A320neo	35	22nd	Deliveries July 19, 2016–2022	186	2.1 years
Airbus A321neo	4th	39	Deliveries September 11, 2019–2024	239	0.4 years
Boeing 737-800	36		With winglets fitted	189	8.1 years
total	87	61			5.1 years

Previously used aircraft types

Aircraft type	number	annotation	Floating	Extermination
Airbus A300B4	2	leased from Carnival Airlines	1996	1997
Boeing 737-300	1	Leased for one year from Corendon Airlines	2008	2009
Boeing 737-400	16		1990	2013
Boeing 737-500	3		2006	2011

technology

Pegasus Airlines is a member of IATA and operates the Pegasus Airlines Flight Academy, a licensed training facility for the training of pilots, flight attendants and aircraft technicians. Self-employed people and staff from other airlines are also trained. The company also has its own technical buildings for maintenance and storage at the three international airports of Istanbul-Sabiha Gökçen , Antalya and İzmir . The technical buildings are equipped with the latest instruments and all have international licenses for aircraft maintenance.

Incidents

The Boeing 737-800 ( registration number TC-CPV) damaged on December 23, 2015, was repaired and used again from May 14, 2016

• On December 23, 2015 at around 02:05 a.m., a Pegasus Airlines Boeing 737-800 ( aircraft registration TC-CPV ) at Istanbul-Sabiha Gökçen Airport was damaged by shrapnel from four exploding mortar projectiles. There were two cleaners on board at the time, one of whom was killed and the other injured. After the attack, for which the Freedom Falcons of Kurdistan had taken responsibility, the aircraft could be repaired and flight operations resumed.
• On January 13, 2018, a Boeing 737-800 ( TC-CPF ) of Pegasus Airlines had an accident at around 11:30 p.m. while landing at Trabzon Airport . The machine was on its way from Ankara to Trabzon (Pegasus Airlines flight 8622). It came off the runway on landing and shot down a slope, where it came to a halt just before the Black Sea . All passengers were uninjured, but the right engine was torn off and the aircraft was badly damaged. For Pegasus Airlines this was the first aircraft loss in the company's history.
• On January 7, 2020, a Boeing 737-800 ( TC-CCK ) shot over the runway when landing at Istanbul-Sabiha Gökçen Airport . All passengers on Flight 747 were evacuated via slides, there were no injuries.
• On February 5, 2020, a Pegasus Airlines ( TC-IZK ) Boeing 737-800 had an accident at around 4:20 p.m. while landing at Istanbul-Sabiha Gökçen Airport. The machine came from Izmir . On landing it shot over the runway and collided with the boundary wall of the airport, breaking it in three parts. At least three people were killed in the incident and several passengers were injured, some seriously (see also Pegasus Airlines flight 2193 ) .

See also

• List of airlines

Web links

Commons : Pegasus Airlines  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Pegasus Airlines' website (including Turkish, English, German)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Q4 2018 Activity Report. In: Pegasus Airlines. Retrieved March 7, 2019 . 
2. ↑ Q4 2018 Financial Results. In: Pegasus Airlines. Retrieved March 7, 2019 . 
3. ↑ December 2018 Traffic Data. In: Pegasus Airlines. Retrieved March 7, 2019 . 
4. ^ Pegasus History. In: flypgs.com. Pegasus Airlines, accessed February 6, 2020 . 
5. ↑ flypgs.com - Cities , accessed September 30, 2016
6. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h} Pegasus Fleet Details and History. In: planespotters.net. May 1, 2020, accessed on May 22, 2020 . 
7. ↑ Airbus - Orders & deliveries. Retrieved April 25, 2019 . 
8. ^ Stefan Eiselin: Sabiha Gökçen: Explosion at the airport in Istanbul. In: aerotelegraph.com. December 23, 2015, accessed February 6, 2020 . 
9. ^ Harro Ranter, Fabian I. Lujan: ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 737-86J (WL) TC-CPV Istanbul-Sabiha Gökçen International Airport (SAW). In: aviation-safety.net. Aviation Safety Network , December 23, 2015, accessed February 6, 2020 . 
10. ^ Harro Ranter, Fabian I. Lujan: ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 737-82R (WL) TC-CPF Trabzon Airport (TZX). In: aviation-safety.net. Aviation Safety Network , January 13, 2018, accessed February 6, 2020 . 
11. ↑ Simon Hradecky: Incident: Pegasus B738 at Istanbul on Jan 7th 2020, runway excursion on landing. In: avherald.com. The Aviation Herald , January 7, 2020, accessed February 5, 2020 . 
12. ↑ Simon Hradecky: Accident: Pegasus B738 at Istanbul on Feb 5th 2020, overran runway, impacted wall, broke up. In: avherald.com. The Aviation Herald , February 5, 2020, accessed February 5, 2020 . 
13. ↑ Timo Nowack: Accident in Turkey: Boeing 737 from Pegasus breaks after landing in Istanbul. In: aerotelegraph.com. February 5, 2020, accessed February 5, 2020 .