Turkish Airlines

Turkish Airlines is the national airline of Turkey. The airline�s prime hub is Atat�rk International Airport (IST), Istanbul, while the secondary hubs are located at International Airport (ESB), Ankara and Sabiha Gokcen International Airport (SAW), Istanbul. Turkish Airlines was founded on May 20, 1933 under the name �State Airlines Administration� as a department of Ministry of Defense. Since its inception, the airline has grew at a consistent pace, by adding aircrafts to its fleet and increasing its destinations. It has a low-cost spin-off named 'AnadoluJet', which was founded in 2008. Currently, Turkish Airlines is on a stiff competition with its rivals, namely Atlasjet, Onur Air and Pegasus. In this article, we have provided a brief history and information on the profile of Turkish Airlines.

History
In 1935, the administration of Turkish Airlines was handed over to Ministry of Public Works, Turkey. The name of the airline was re-christened to "General Directorate of State Airlines" and its operational control shifted to Ministry of Transportation. The airline operated its first international flight in 1947, from Ankara to Athens. In 1956, the airline was reorganized and operated under a special legislation and renamed T�rk Hava Yollari A.O., with a capital of 60 Million TL. In 1961, the airline moved further to create its international stance and improve its service by entering into the jet era; with the acquisition of Douglas DC-9 jet aircraft. In 1984, Turkish Airlines was reclassified as a �State Economic Enterprise� and the capital was raised to 60 Billion TL. In September 1993, Turkish Airlines merged with THT (Turkish Air Transportation).

Destinations And Fleet
Turkish Airlines covers a number of destinations in and out of its home country - Turkey. In Africa, the airline flies to Algeria, Ethiopia, Tunisia, Egypt, Kenya, Libya, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa and Sudan. The North American countries covered by the airline are United States and Canada, while it flies to Brazil in South America. In Asia, the passenger carrier flies to Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, China, Japan, South Korea, India (to Delhi and Mumbai), Pakistan, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Bahrain, Cyprus, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.

The European countries, to which Turkish Airlines flies, includes United Kingdom, Ukraine, Switzerland, Sweden, Spain, Slovenia, Serbia, Russia, Romania, Portugal, Poland, Norway, Netherlands, Moldova, Macedonia, Latvia, Kosovo, Italy, Ireland, Hungary, Greece, Germany, Georgia, France, Denmark, Czech Republic, Croatia, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Austria and Albania. Turkish Airlines operates a modern fleet consisting of 127 aircrafts, namely Boeing 777-300ER, Boeing 737-800, Boeing 737-700, Boeing 737-400, Airbus A340-300, Airbus A330-200, Airbus A321-200, Airbus A320-200 and Airbus A319-100.