In some good news for the beleaguered aviation industry, Turkish Airlines has announced a profit of $915 million for the third quarter of 2021.
Prior to the pandemic, TK was enjoying a period of massive growth, during which it grew into one of the world's largest carriers, with a fleet of 372 aircraft, including 243 narrow-body and 105 wide-body planes, along with 24 cargo aircraft.
The total revenue of the company during the third quarter of 2021 was at $4.2 billion, 85 percent of the same period of 2019. Cargo revenue, which represented 28 percent of total revenue for the quarter, was up 135 percent compared to the same period in 2019.
The airlines says aggressive cost-cutting during the global health crisis enabled it to limit operational losses. As an example, total expenditures during Q3 2021 were down 19 percent compared with Q3 2019.
Turkish Airlines carried a total of 16.5 million passengers in the third quarter with a 82.4 percent load factor on domestic flights and 69.6 percent load factor on international flights.
TK was the European leader in terms of flights operated during 2020 and say it has maintained its leading position during the first nine months of 2021. The flag carrier put a strong focus on cargo transportation and made several passenger aircraft in its fleet available for Turkish Cargo. According to August 2021 data, TK is now the fourth biggest air cargo carrier in the world.
The airline's recent success has emboldened it to claim in a statement that the "global aviation sector is leaving behind its biggest crisis in history."
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