Turkish airlines, founded in 1933, operated its first international air cargo shipment in 1936. Today Turkish Cargo, the cargo division of Turkey’s national flag carrier, is one of the fastest growing air cargo brands of the world and offers services to 120 countries. For the first half of 2017 Turkish Cargo reported an income growth of 24 percent yearon-year basis. In the recent past it has launched seven new services to take its total cargo destinations to 72 which in the beginning of 2016 stood at 55. In an exclusive interview Turhan Ozen, the chief cargo officer for Turkish Airlines, speaks to Reji John about the carriers performance in 2017 and the aggressive network expansion around the globe. ozen was appointed to the current position less than a years ago.
Could you please give us an update on the Turkish Cargo performance in the first half of 2017?
Our growth rate January to July amounted to 28 percent on revenue and transported volumes. This growth is naturally built on positive trends of global air freight market, on which we got a significant market share. We are also determined to continue to outpace market growth rates and make our momentum sustainable in the coming years.
There has been quite an aggressive network expansion in the first half of 2017 with new freighter destinations added to your network in Africa, Far East, Europe and South America? What has been the response to these network additions? Do you see the demand improving in those regions where you have introduced freighter coverage in the recent past?
During 2017 we reached up to 72 destinations with the openings of Africa (Johannesburg, Madagascar, Kano and Dakar), Europe (Prague, Oslo, Paris, Riga) and South America (Sao Paulo). We succeed to expand our business and increase our market share in all of the new destinations sooner than planned.
What was the average load factor seen in the first half of 2017? Do you expect to see the load factor improving in the months ahead?
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