THY TURKISH AIRLINES (TURK HAVAYOLLARI, A. O.): General Administration Building, Ataturk Airport, Yesilkoy, Istanbul, 34830, Turkey; Phone 90 (212) 663-6300; Fax 90 (212) 663-4744; Http://www. turkishairlines. com; Code TK; Year Founded 1933. DHY (Devlet Hava Yollari-Turkish State Airlines) is formed by the Ministry of Public Works on May 20, 1933. Initial Istanbul-Ankara via Eskisehir service is launched by de Havilland DH 80A Puss Moths on a summer basis only. At the end of April 1934, it is reported that, for the first year of operations, the carrier has transported a total of 463 passengers and one ton of cargo. The fleet now includes 2 Junkers F.13s, 2 DH 80s, and 2 Curtiss Model 55 Kingbirds first flown by Eastern Air Transport in the U. S.
In 1935, the single route is extended to Diarbekir and in May 1937 the fleet is increased through the addition of four DH-86s. By 1939, the route network runs from Istanbul-Diarbekir, with stops at Izmir, Adona, Ankara, and Kayseri. There are no significant changes during the war years.
Pan American Airways (PAA) begins to provide technical assistance in 1946 under a new Turkish-U. S. bilateral air agreement. Upwards of 33 Douglas DC-3s and C-47s ordered from Allied war surplus the previous year are acquired and winter services are initially begun at year’s end. The first international service is inaugurated in 1947 over a route from Ankara to Athens via Istanbul.
Operations continue apace and without incident in 1948-1949. A DC-3 with 4 crew and 11 passengers catches fire after landing at Ankara on March 25, 1950, and explodes; there are no survivors.
Another Douglas transport with four crew and a passenger, strikes a sand dune while on final approach to Cairo on November 19; there are no survivors.
Flights are safely conducted during the remainder of the year and throughout 1952. A DC-3 with 5 crew and 16 passengers fails its climb away from Ankara on September 25, 1953, and crashes into a dry river bed (five dead).
The first half of 1954 is marred by two fatal accidents. On January 5, a DC-3 with three crew and five passengers smashes into the ground near Lapseki, Turkey, (four dead).
On April 3, a DC-3 explodes in midair just after takeoff from Adana (25 dead).
On June 15, 1955, an agreement is signed with Pan American World Airways (1); the terms of the deal call for the Turks to be trained in modern techniques under a $475,000 FOA grant to be administered under the direction of Capt. S. H. Miller.
The carrier is reformed into a corporation and receives its current name on March 1, 1956, with the government maintaining controlling interest. DH-114 Heron 2s join the fleet and a Douglas DC-7B is leased from the American carrier Eastern Air Lines. Toward year’s end, the company becomes the 78th member of lATA.
Vickers Viscounts are ordered in July 1957, during which year passenger boardings are 329,000. While landing at Munich on January 20, 1958, the EAL DC-7B suffers a nosewheel collapse; although no injuries are reported, the plane is so badly damaged that it must be written off. Fortuitously, the first Viscount is delivered the next day.
British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) acquires a 6% minority interest in 1959, which will be held until 1977. British technical assistance now replaces American.
En route from Ankara to London on February 17, a chartered Vickers Viscount 794D with 8 crew and 16 passengers crashes near Gatwick Airport (14 dead).
Enplanements for the year total 371,244.
Orders placed for five Fokker F.27s the previous year are license-built in the U. S. by Fairchild and join the fleet in 1960.
On initial approach to Ankara following a September 23, 1961 flight from Adana, an F.27-100 with 4 crew and 25 passengers flies below minimum altitude and crashes near the airport (28 dead).
While on approach to Incirli on March 8, 1962, a Fairchild F-27 with three crew and eight passengers makes a navigational error and crashes into snow-covered Taurus Mountain at the 11,000-ft. level; there are no survivors.
Passenger traffic for the year drops to 287,333, falling to 262,920 in 1963.
A DC-3, with three crew crashes while on initial approach to Ankara on February 3, 1964; there are no survivors. During the year, routes are opened to Western Europe as Viscount service is started to Brussels, Vienna, Rome, Frankfurt, Munich and Athens.
Enplanements total 368,664.
Airline employment is 1,249 in 1965 and the fleet now includes 19 aircraft: 2 C-47s, 5 DC-3s, 8 F-27s, and 4 Viscounts. A new route is extended to Amsterdam. Frequencies are increased on the Istanbul to Athens route, the service from Istanbul to Brussels via Vienna and Frankfurt, and the run from Istanbul to Munich via Rome.
Passenger boardings climb 10% to 409,626.
There is no change in services offered during 1966. The carrier’s first jetliner, a DC-9-14, is leased from Douglas in August 1967 and is placed in service on the European routes.
The fleet is increased by six Friendships and six Douglas DC-9-14s in 1968.
The nosegear of a chartered DC-7B with 6 crew and 32 passengers collapses as the plane lands at Munich on January 20; there are no fatalities.
Enplanements this year total 770,232.
While on final approach to Ankara on February 2, 1969, a Vickers Viscount 794 with 4 crew and 22 passengers strikes an electricity pylon, crashes, and catches fire; although the aircraft must be written off, there are no fatalities.
En route from Istanbul to Ankara on September 16, Flight 124, a Viscount with 63 passengers, is captured by a lone assailant protesting Turkish travel restrictions. The aircraft is diverted to Sofia, Bulgaria, where the pirate is taken into custody. Upon examination, he will be found mentally deficient and sent to a psychiatric facility.
Customer bookings this year swell to 952,816.
The workforce is 2,769 in 1970. Two additional DC-9-14s are acquired and Istanbul-London service is inaugurated.
An F.27-100 with 3 crew and 26 passengers is destroyed as the result of a bad landing at Samsun on February 17; there are no fatalities. Top management is reorganized during the fall.
Passenger boardings increase 13% to pass the one-million mark for the first time (1,095,191) while cargo climbs by 29.4%.
Two more DC-9-14s are delivered in 1971 as bookings climb to 1,921,744 and DC-10s are ordered.
The employee population stands at 3,775 in 1972. Service is added to Copenhagen and Milan.
En route from Damascus to Ankara on January 21, a DC-9-32 with five crew is diverted to Adana with pressurization problems; on a second approach, the Douglas crashes and catches fire (one dead).
While en route from Ankara to Istanbul with 61 aboard on May 3, a DC-9-14 is hijacked by 4 Turkish students armed with grenades, who force it to land at Sofia, Bulgaria, after threatening to blow it up unless three condemned members of the Turkish People’s Liberation Army are freed. Following a two-day siege, the students abandon their effort in exchange for political asylum.
The Bulgarians will, in fact, place the four on trial and give them three-year prison terms. The condemned TPLA prisoners are, meanwhile, hung at Ankara on May 6.
Four more TPLA students attempt the same ploy on October 22, seizing a similar jetliner en route from Istanbul to Ankara and diverting it to Sofia, where they hold 60 passengers hostages while demanding the release of 13 Turkish political prisoners. Again the demands are refused and again the students surrender to Bulgarian police. These students will also be put on trial and sent to prison for up to three years. The “ringleader” will make the mistake of returning to Turkey some years later. He will be captured, tried, and sent to prison for 20 years.
The first of three DC-10-10s to be delivered on the year arrives on December 1 and begins service later in the month. Orders are placed for five Fokker F.28s.
Passenger traffic soars 24% to 1,969,000 and freight traffic grows 8.2%.
Service is initiated to Geneva in 1973. The first F.28-1000s are delivered and begin to replace F-27s on domestic routes. The first of eight new Boeing 727-2F2s are assigned to regional services.
An F.27-100 is destroyed as the result of a belly landing at Istanbul on May 10; there are no fatalities.
Freight skyrockets 46.9% and passenger boardings jump 28.8% to 2,536,072.
An F.28-1000 with 5 crew and 68 passengers fails its takeoff from Cumaovasi Airport at Izmir for a January 26, 1974 flight to Istanbul and crashes into a drainage ditch, skidding and catching fire (66 dead).
As the result of the incorrect engagement of the door-latching mechanism before takeoff from Paris (ORY) to London (LHR) on March 3, Flight 981, the ascending DC-10-10 Ankara with 11 crew and 335 passengers, suffers the in-flight ejection of the aft cargo door on the left-hand side of the fuselage. The sudden and explosive depressurization that follows leads to the disruption of the floor structure, causing six passengers and parts of the aircraft to be ejected. The No. 2 engine is rendered inoperative, thus impairing the flight controls (tail surfaces) making it impossible for the crew to regain control of the aircraft. The wide-body crashes crash at Bois d’Ermenonville and there are no survivors; the event is the worst single-plane disaster in commercial aviation history to date.
Ironically, the Ankara is one of six DC-10s that had first been ordered by Mitsui for lease to All Nippon Airways Company, Ltd. (ANA), but
Passed to other carriers when the Japanese firm suddenly does an about-face and purchases Lockheed TriStars. Among the other carriers is American Airlines, which suffered an explosive door-decompression with one of the ships on June 12, 1972. Moira Johnson recalls this incident later in The Last Nine Minutes: The Story of Flight 981 (New York: William Morrow, 1976).
The resulting bad publicity from Flight 981 (much of it in the British press, as many of the Ankara’s passengers had been from the U. K.) and the Cyprus invasion cause bookings to drop 8.3% to 2.09 million. Cargo, however, is up to 10.19 FTKs, a slight 1.9% boost.
As an F.28-1000 with 4 crew and 38 passengers is making its second landing approach to Istanbul Airport on the night of January 31, 1975, the airport is suddenly blacked out by a city-wide power failure; the jetliner, consequently, crashes into the Sea of Marmara and there are no survivors.
The subsidiary Kirbis Turk Hava Yollari/Cyprus Turkish Airlines
Is formed in February to connect four Turkish cities with the northern part of the island of Cyprus; initial equipment includes a DC-9-14, a Boeing 727-2F2, and a B-707-128B. The airline, on March 4, offers a $10-million out-of-court settlement to the damage suits arising from the 1974 Paris crash.
Systemwide, passenger boardings advance 8.5% to 2,274,000, but freight drops 4%.
Airline employment is 4,647 in 1976. Seeking to be reunited with his French girlfriend, Turkish national Zeki Ejder hijacks a DC-10-10 with 253 passengers, shortly after its takeoff from Paris (ORY) for a flight to Istanbul on May 1. He surrenders at Paris, where the plane lands after it is refused permission to exit French airspace.
En route from Istanbul to Antalya on the night of September 20, the pilots of a B-727-2F2 with 8 crew and 146 passengers, see bright lights of a city believed to be their point of destination and obtain permission to land. While on initial approach to, what turns out to be, Isparta instead of Antalya, the aircraft crashes into a mountain; there are no survivors.
Passenger bookings this year soar 25.9% to 2,862,000 and cargo swells by 47.8% to 14.52 million FTKs.
On February 13, 1977, a 17-year-old assailant shoots the pilot and a stewardess while taking over a DC-9-14 with 62 aboard en route from Istanbul to Izmir. The aircraft is diverted to a military base near its destination, where the young man surrenders to grim-looking military police.
Lebanese police arrest two armed hijackers on March 20, who have commandeered a B-727-2F2 during a Diyarbakir to Ankara flight with 8 crew and 173 passengers and diverted it to Beirut.
The company is completely nationalized at midyear and now operates without foreign capitalization; the last British Airways, Ltd. (2) holding is relinquished. Two B-707-321Cs begin a dedicated all-cargo service from Istanbul to Frankfurt; goods hauled include vegetables, fish, fruit, textiles, and leather.
Enplanements for the year rise to 3,109,385. Still, a $15.1-million loss is suffered. On revenues of $176.8 million, the loss is cut to $8.4 million.
International destinations visited from Ankara, Antalya, Izmir, Istanbul, and Adana in 1978 include Beirut, Tel Aviv, Tripoli, Milan, Rome, Zurich, Copenhagen, Brussels, Geneva, Frankfurt, Paris, Vienna, Munich, and London.
Chairman Nihat Kursat oversees a workforce of 5,540 and his fleet now comprises 4 Boeing 707-120Bs, 2 DC-10-10s, 4 B-727-2F2s, 9 DC-9-30s, and 3 F.27-100s. A new technical agreement is negotiated with KLM (Royal Dutch Airlines).
Bookings fall 16.5% to 2,688,979 and freight is off 18.7%.
While on approach to Ankara’s Esenboga Airport on December 23, 1979, the F.28-1000 Trabzon with 4 crew and 41 passengers deviates from course and strikes a hill near Cucuk Koy (41 dead).
Traffic for the year falls to 2,037,000, yet the loss is down to $4.7 million.
A three-month strike-lockout and its aftermath in 1980 will have a significant impact upon traffic.
En route from Istanbul to Ankara on October 13, Flight 890, a B-727-2F2 with 140 passengers, is diverted to Diyarbakir by four armed hijackers. On the ground, Turkish troops storm the aircraft, killing 1 passenger and wounding 12 other persons, including the skyjackers, who are all captured. The four will later be tried and executed.
Passenger boardings drop 45.5% to 1.445,000 as freight dips 37.8% to 162.72 million FTKs. Consequently, the workforce is cut 6% to 5,734. On revenues of $174 million, the loss this year soars to $27.6 million.
Service is inaugurated to Karachi and Abu Dhabi in 1981. En route from Istanbul to Ankara on May 24, Flight 104, a DC-9-30 with 84 passengers, including 5 American bankers, is hijacked to Burgas, Bulgaria, by 4 leftist guerrillas, who threaten to kill the Americans unless 47 political prisoners are released from Turkish jails and a ransom paid.
The next day, two of the skyjackers are captured by police as they leave the aircraft to give a press conference. The two other sleepy pirates are overpowered by Bulgarian law enforcement officials and brave passengers; all of the hostages are safely freed. The quartet will be tried and receive three-year prison terms.
On June 12, a number of people stage a protest outside the company’s Paris offices against alleged “outrages” being perpetrated against Armenians living in France.
Customer bookings skyrocket 58.3% to 2,295,000. A net profit of $37 million is reported.
Enplanements are off 0.2% to 2,292,000 in 1982. Airline employment in 1983 stands at 5,712 as Airbus Industrie A310s are ordered. Also, 3 de Havilland Canada DHC-7s are chartered for 3 years from Schreiner Airways, B. V.
While on final approach to Ankara in a blinding snowstorm on January 16, a B-727-2F2 with 7 crew and 60 passengers lands 50 m. short of the runway, breaks up and catches fire (47 dead).
On January 22, Armenian guerrillas throw grenades at the carrier’s Paris office and another bomb is later discovered near the airline’s counter at Orly Airport; no injuries are reported at either location.
University student Mahmout Kalkan, a member of the Leftist DEV SOL group, takes over a DC-9-30 en route from Istanbul to Izmir and diverts it to Athens Airport on April 15. After releasing the 112 passengers, he continues to hold the flight crew at knifepoint, demanding passage to Australia. Police, instead, refuse and storm the cockpit, arresting the pirate. No one is injured during the ordeal. Kalkan will be tried and given a 13 1/2-year prison term.
When the new Turkish government takes power, it introduces legislation to end the flag carrier’s monopoly.
On the year, bookings climb 4.4% to 2,392,000.
The workforce is increased 8.5% to 6,195 in 1984. Turkey’s No. 1 foreign currency earner, the airline’s status is changed from that of a state-owned private company to that of a government economic enterprise, involving additional bureaucratic processes. An ultramodern technical base is opened at Yesilkoy Airport in the fall and Yilmaz Oral becomes president in November, the 21st since 1956.
Bookings jump 12.9% to 2,687,000. With a ratio of 1.5 million domestic to 1.2 million international, THY has a higher such ratio than any other European airline except Iberia Spanish Airlines (2) (Lineas Aereas de Espana, S. A.).
The payroll is increased to 6,208 in 1985. In February, the KLM (Royal Dutch Airlines, N. V.) CORDA computer reservations system at Istanbul (Yesilkoy Airport) is turned off in favor of its own TOROS system.
The first of four Airbus Industrie A310-203s is delivered in May and enters service in June as first-class service is reintroduced as a revenue enhancement. The advanced jetliners fly to 24 cities on the
THY network, which now runs from London to Karachi, with 36 foreign and 17 domestic destinations. Three de Havilland Canada DHC-
7-102s are leased for domestic operations.
En route from Frankfurt to Istanbul on June 28, a B-727-2F2 with 81 passengers is taken over by a lone assailant, who sprays foam over the instruments, shouting that he will cause the trijet to crash. Obviously mad, the man is quickly captured by passengers and crewmen working together.
Passenger boardings dip 2.6% to 2,508,000, but cargo accelerates 9.23%. Revenues are $255 million and expenses $218.4 million, producing a $36.6-million operating profit and net gain of $31.4 million.
The employee population continues to grow in 1986, up 4.5% to 7,568. The three leased DHC-7s are returned. Istanbul to Singapore via Bahrain weekly DC-10-30 service begins in July and in August, three A310-300s are ordered.
Customer bookings accelerate 8.2% to 2,935,813 and cargo increases 58.5% to 45.46 million FTKs. Revenues rise 40.6% to $312 million, expenses are up 47.6% to $280.63 million, and the operating profit is $31.52 million.
Airline employment rises another 14.3% in 1987 and the fleet now includes 25 aircraft, although the DHC-7-102s are withdrawn and returned to Canada.
Enplanements through August are up 21.5% to 2,310,684 and freight swells 36.7% to 27.62 million FTKs.
The number of workers grows again in 1988, by 7.8%, to 6,994 and the fleet now includes 9 B-727-2F2As, 9 DC-9-32s, and 7 A310-203s. A B-727-264A, first flown by Mexicana Airlines, S. A. de C. V. as the Mexicali, joins the company under a two-year lease. Former Denison University (Ohio) professor Dr. Cem Kozlu is named chairman/CEO. In an effort to help promote tourism, direct Istanbul-New York roundtrips are inaugurated on September 15. In November, two DC-10-10s are sold to Federal Express.
Passenger boardings for the year increase by 8% to 4,116,883 and cargo climbs 34% to 59.62 million FTKs.
The fleet of the Turkish flag carrier in 1989 includes 13 A310-203/304s, 11 B-727-2F2As, 9 DC-9-32s, and 2 B-707-320Cs. Orders are placed for five A340-311s. All of the aircraft are painted in new livery and major emphasis is placed upon customer service and on-time performance. In August, the company contracts with American Airlines to serve as its general sales agent at New York (JFK). Under the arrangement, American feeds cargo to THY’s three weekly flights into New York and the Turkish airline provides a connection to American’s European operations at other times.
Service begins in October to the carrier’s most distant point when weekly (later twice-weekly) roundtrip flights are inaugurated from Istanbul to Tokyo. The number of international destinations served now totals 52. During the last week of December, weekly Istanbul to Moscow flights commence. By year’s end, 73.9% of all company flights are on time, as contracted with 66% the previous year.
Customer bookings swell 9.2% to 4,430,570 and cargo balloons 56% to 92.74 million FTKs. Revenues total $460 million and the first net profit in two years is generated: $5 million.
Airline employment stands at 6,488 in 1990 and orders are placed for six B-737-4Q8s and four B-737-4YOs. The ex-Mexicali is returned. The company joins with Deutsche Lufthansa, A. G. in February in acquiring shareholding in the charter operator Sun Express, A. S. The Istan-bul-Moscow service becomes twice weekly in March. Beginning on May 9, twice-weekly Istanbul-Budapest roundtrip service is introduced for the summer. A new corporate image is introduced during July, complete with a new livery, designed free for the company by Airbus Industrie. It is not unlike that of Swissair, A. G. in appearance. THK (Turk Hava Kurumu, A. O.) becomes a subsidiary in September and is renamed THT Turkish Air Transport (Turk Hava Tasimaciligi, A. O.).
Iraq’s August invasion of Kuwait slows traffic growth and dims immediate growth plans. Approximately 100% of the airline’s shareholding is now transferred to the Prime Ministry’s Public Participation Administration. Following the decision to privatize the airline, a public offering of 5% of the company on the Istanbul stock exchange is made in November, but only 1.3% of the shares are subscribed.
Still, overall passenger boardings climb 9.4% to 4,857,814 and cargo swells 25.3% to 116.23 million FTKs.
The workforce is increased by 31% in 1991 to 8,500; however, much of it is idled by a 38-day strike, which atop the effects of the Gulf war and recession, turns the year into a disaster for the flag carrier. The dedicated Stratoliner freighters are withdrawn in February as the company comes to rely on belly-capacity and wet-leasing for its cargo services; service is also suspended to Kuala Lumpur.
Joint flights commence with CSA Czech Airlines in April over a route from Istanbul to Prague. In September, nonstop A310-304 nonstop service is inaugurated from Istanbul to New York, in addition to the carrier’s three weekly multistop flights.
President/CEO Cem Kozlu resigns in October; during the search for his successor, Vice President-Technical Yasuf Bolayirli assumes the position. During the year, frequencies are also begun to Abu Dhabi, Baku, Denizli, Amman, and Beirut.
At the behest of national political leaders anxious to gain influence and under a government order, THY begins service into the former Soviet republics of Central Asia and the Caucasus. Airline leaders do not believe the markets will be profitable. Meanwhile, business-class service is introduced throughout the international network and on key domestic routes.
Despite this expansion, customer bookings fall 26.6% to 3,356,337 and cargo drops 32.1% to 77.51 million FTKs. Expenses far exceed income and large losses are suffered: $60.79 million (operating) and $128.77 million (net).
The payroll is reduced a slight 0.6% in 1992 to 8,181 and the fleet now includes 9 DC-9-32s, 8 B-727-2F2As, 7 each B-737-4Y0s, A310-203s, and A310-304s, plus 2 B-737-5Y0s, and 1 each B-727-243A, B-737-4Q8, and leased from Bavaria Fluggesellschaft, GmbH., 1 B-737-2K9A.
Tezcan M. Yaramanci becomes president/CEO in January. New routes are initiated to Bahrain, Barcelona, Nice, Strasbourg, and Tashkent/Alma Ata and help the carrier to recover traffic lost to the Gulf crisis. In April, a marketing alliance is entered into with CSA (Czechoslovak Airlines) covering joint services on the route from Istanbul to Prague.
Passenger boardings increase 41.8% during the year to 4,687,554 while freight jumps 47.4% to 112.87 million FTKs. Revenues rise 29.5% to $591.06 million and expenses are up 21.1% to $626.44 million. The operating loss is cut in half to $35.38 million as the net loss declines to $70.02 million.
In 1993, Chairman Erman Yerdelen and President/CEO Yaramanci oversee a workforce of 8,689, up 6.2% over the previous year, and a fleet increased by the addition of an 8th A310-203. A $20-million international advertising campaign is undertaken during the first and second quarters as 8 routes in Europe and the Mideast are dropped and replaced by 12 others, with Strasbourg, Nice, Barcelona, Manchester, and Tirana new destinations.
As part of a coordinated campaign of demonstrations and other acts designed to draw attention to the desire for a separate Kurdish state, a gang of four or five Kurds smashes in the front window and destroys the airline’s office in central Strasbourg on June 26.
Taking over the five delivery positions of the defunct Dan-Air/Dan-Air Services, Ltd., THY on July 22 becomes the first European airline to receive and operate the AVRO RJ100. Christened Denizli, the premier aircraft’s receipt is shortly thereafter followed by the arrival of four sisters: Erzurum on August 12, Samsun on September 7, Van on October 21, and Gaziantep on November 4. The RJ100s are placed on the carrier’s domestic routes from Istanbul and Ankara to Adan, Anatalya, Izmir, and Van, as well as on international services to Athens, Bucharest, Cairo, Kiev, Rome, Salonika, and Tirana.
The first two A340-311s arrive at Istanbul on July 22 and August 10, respectively. First-class service, abandoned some years earlier, is reintroduced on the new Airbus while, at the same time, the $50 membership fee for the airline’s frequent flyer program is dropped. It and the others will allow nonstop flights to North America and the Far East, including a new service to Tokyo.
Late in the year, the regional subsidiary THT Turkish Air Transport (Turk Hava Tasintaciligi, A. S.) is absorbed and its fleet of ATPs is exchanged for AVRO RJ100s. At the same time, the company enters into an agreement with the Bulgarian freight operator Air Sofia. Under its terms, that company’s entire fleet (two Antonov An-22s and five An-12Bs) will provide return all-cargo flights on THY’s behalf from Istanbul to Basel, Maastricht, and London (STN).
Customer bookings swell a further 30.1% to 6,099,032 while cargo bounces skyward by 43.2% to 161.66 million FTKs. Although revenues move ahead by 9.7% to $648.49 million, expenses are nearly double that percentage, jumping 16.1% to $727.3 million. The operating loss increases to $83.2 million while the net loss deepens to $91.13 million. Capitalization is now just TL 2.5 billion.
Airline employment is cut by 2.1% in 1994 to 8,509 and 6 B-727-2F2As are phased out as the 5th leased RJ100 and 7 B-737-4Q8s enter service. In January, three more AVRO RJ100s are requested. Early in the first quarter, a contract is signed with the British Airways, Ltd. (2) subsidiary Speedwing, Ltd. for the provision of certain computerized reservations and fare services.
Although remaining a member of the board of directors, President/ CEO Yaramanci quits in March; once again, Vice President Bolayirli fills in as a search for a successor is undertaken. The carrier is again designated as a state economic enterprise under the jurisdiction of the Privatisation Administration. Also in March, joint services are inaugurated with Balkan Bulgarian Airlines over a route from Istanbul to Sofia.
The three new AVRO RJ100s arrive late in the first quarter and into the second. They are placed on international routes from Istanbul to Athens, Bucharest, Rome, and Cairo. During the spring, the third A340-311 enters service and daily nonstop flights commence to New York (JFK).
THY is now the only European carrier to serve all four Central Asian republics of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Among the services offered are twice-weekly Boeing 727-2F2A flights from Istanbul to Baku and Ashkhabad (weekly from Istanbul to Baku direct) and A310-203 frequencies from Istanbul to Tashkent to Alma Ata.
Two DC-9-32s transport 300 blue-bereted Turkish troops to Split, Croatia, on June 24, where they are linked with a contingent of 237 technical and support staff and vehicles sent by sea and are then dispatched to Bosnia to serve with UN forces. A total of 1,455 additional soldiers are flown to Split by June 27. The Turkish contingent will be fully committed in central Bosnia by mid-July.
During the summer, daily A340-311 nonstop flights are inaugurated from Istanbul to Newark (EWR), as well as Tokyo and Beijing.
With the mission of attracting additional business-class passengers, afternoon flights are initiated, complementing the traditional morning flights from the Turkish capital to European destinations. A $16-million agreement is signed with Valujet Airlines on October 1; under terms of the deal, the Turkish carrier will sell the American discount operator nine used DC-9-32s, plus spare parts and engines.
Simultaneously, the thrice-weekly nonstop roundtrips between Istanbul and Manchester are cancelled; bookings have been insufficient to support the service.
After 2 previous attempts to put down are aborted due to bad weather, Flight 278, a B-737-4Y0 with 7 crew and 69 passengers, collides with a 5,700-ft. hill and crashes 2 mi. from the airport of the southeastern city of Van on December 29. All aboard, mostly military personnel, are killed.
At year’s end, plans are made to inaugurate new services to Osaka (KIX).
Passenger boardings balloon 19.3% to 7,273,679 while freight moves up 29.8% to 209.85 million FTKs. Revenues advance 9.7% to $705.09 million, but expenses are $726.34 million. The loss picture is “improved,” with the pretax downturn reduced to $27.73 million and the net loss down to $73.84 million.
Fifty-nine new employees are hired in 1995, a 0.7% increase, while three B-737-4Q8s join the fleet. New twice-weekly routes are opened to Tirana and Osaka.
A far-left group is accused of the April 17 fire-bombing attack on the company’s Vienna office on April 16.
Following the June 2 crash of one of the DC-9-32s sold to Valujet Airlines, the U. S. FAA issues an airworthiness directive requiring inspection of all P&W JT8D engines maintained by THY for U. S. carriers or purchased from the Turkish airline’s subsidiary repair facility. A new B-737 simulator is opened at the company’s main facility.
At the Paris Air Show in early June, orders are placed for two more AVRO RJ100s. These aircraft, the Surt and Tokat, are delivered on June 22 and June 28, respectively. These deliveries are followed in October by an order for four RJ70s.
Enplanements swell 18.2% to 8,599,250 and cargo rises 2.7% to 215.44 million FTKs. Operating revenues jump 22% to $1.22 billion while expenses are up only 15.7% to $1.09 billion. This year there are profits: $26.27 million (operating) and $8.01 million (net).
The workforce is increased by 1.2% in 1996 to 8,668 and a fourth A340-311 is acquired. In January, 10 pilots are sent to the British Aerospace Flying College at Prestwick, Scotland, to undertake a 20-week course of instruction on operation of the new AVROs.
Flights are started to Almaty and six other destinations, including Bangkok. By this time, THY is a dominant carrier in the former Soviet republics along its border, including the Caucasus and Central Asia. Stiff competition on those routes now begins with Deutsche Lufthansa, A. G., Austrian Airlines, A. G., and British Airways, Ltd. (2).
While en route from Ercan, Cyprus, to Istanbul on March 8, a B-727-2F2A with 110 passengers is captured by a lone assailant armed with what will turn out to be a fake pistol. The plane is diverted to Munich where, after hours of negotiations, the perpetrator releases his hostages the next morning and surrenders.
During the month, a code-sharing agreement is entered into with Swissair, A. G. covering flights from Zurich to Istanbul and Izmir and from Geneva to Istanbul.
The first AVRO RJ70, the Usak, is delivered on March 29. It will be followed into service by the Muk, which is accepted on May 3. Weekly A310-204 roundtrips are inaugurated on May 24 from Istanbul to Bishkek and Kyrgyzstan via Almaty. The RJ70s Kahramanmaras and Erzincan are delivered on June 24 and June 28, respectively.
On July 31, THY becomes the 10th foreign airline company to start regular service to Tbilisi, when it inaugurates RJ70 services twice weekly from Istanbul. The AVRO is replaced with a B-737-4Y0 in October.
The contract with Air Sofia ends with that carrier’s demise at year’s end. The company now charters 10 RJ100s and 4 RJ70s.
Customer bookings accelerate 7.9% to 9,280,869 while 214.2 million FTKs are operated, a 5% decline. Operating income climbs 13.6% to $1.27 billion while costs ascend 17.5% to $1.21 billion. Operating gain reaches $55.83 million and a big $53.76-million net profit is posted.
The employee population is cut by 3.6% in 1997 to 8,358. A block-seat agreement begins with Swissair, A. G. during the first quarter over routes from Istanbul and Izmir to Zurich. Thrice-weekly roundtrips from Istanbul to Ercan begin on March 30.
Weekly service is started between Istanbul and Johannesburg and in April from Istanbul to Odessa. A $4-million international print and television advertising campaign to the theme “The Turquoise Bridge”— referring to Turkey’s coastal resort area as well as the nation’s reputation as a bridge straddling continents—is begun in Europe and the U. S.
A340-311 service from Istanbul to Chicago is started on May 7, thrice weekly on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sunday. For the first two weeks, tickets of $499 are offered, followed until the end of May by $529 tariffs. The Turkish fashion design firm of Vakko creates new female flight attendant uniforms, which are introduced on company aircraft during June.
Cem Kozlu succeeds Atilla Celebi, returning as chairman on July 1. Almost immediately, he cancels a company plan to solicit bids from various manufacturers for a total of 54 aircraft. Twice-weekly, 15-hr. flying time A340-311 roundtrips to Jakarta via Bangkok and Singapore commence on July 4.
A code-sharing agreement with the South Korean carrier Asiana Airlines takes effect on August 1; employing Asiana aircraft with dual designated flight numbers, the two initiate twice-weekly roundtrips between Istanbul and Seoul. A consortium comprising the Turkish government, Banque Nationale de Paris, and the Credit Apricole Indo-suez pay for all of the Airbus machines.
Twice-weekly roundtrips are initiated on August 8 to Edremit and Agri, followed by introduction of the same number of frequencies to the “City of Roses,” Isparta, on August 28. Meanwhile on August 19, the carrier takes delivery of an A340-313X. In September, Bangkok is dropped as a stop on the twice-weekly Istanbul via Singapore to Jakarta route.
On October 1, a $2.5-billion contract is signed with Boeing for 26 Next Generation B-737-8F2s and options for 23 more; deliveries are to begin in the year 2002. At the same time, the decision is taken not to exercise the three-year option for the 10 RJ100s now in its fleet and that will begin a staggered return to Canadair next year. Four RJ70s will be retained.
Service to Chicago is suspended on October 26. A new marketing pact with Japan Air Lines Company, Ltd. (2) comes into effect on October 31; JAL purchases block-seats on THY A340-311 thrice-weekly flights to Istanbul from Osaka (KIX).
Disappointed in the European Union’s inability to grant the nation membership, the government, on December 21, approves a THY plan to purchase up to $2.5 billion worth of Next Generation B-737-8F2 from Boeing. The EU instructs the carrier not to proceed with its previous effort to secure new aircraft from Airbus Industrie, the European consortium.
Passenger boardings accelerate 12.2% to 10,405,774 while cargo shoots up 23.1% to 256.21 million FTKs. Operating revenues advance 6.2% to $1.35 billion, while costs are up 3.6% to $1.37 billion. Although there is an $18.9-million operating loss, an $18.8-million net gain is celebrated.
Airline employment stands at 8,958 in 1998 and the fleet, 95.4% of which is Stage III certified, includes 65 airplanes at the beginning of the year: 3 B-727-2F2As, 29 B-737s, 14 each A310s and AVRO Regional Jets, and 5 A340s.
In early January, the carrier firms up its Boeing commitment. After making a second approach in heavy snow and dense fog, the pilot of Flight 74, an RJ100 with 6 crew and 68 passengers arriving from Istanbul, lands midway down the runway at Samsun on the Black Sea, on January 11 and skids some 50 meters into a field. Both pilots and 20 passengers are injured and the fuselage is severely damaged. The aircraft, damager beyond economic repair, is later written off.
On January 24, the existing relationship with Swissair, A. G. is deepened under a new memorandum of understanding signed in Ankara. Although the new pact does not call for SAirGroup to acquire a stake in the Turkish carrier, it does provide for full-freighter flights between Basel and Istanbul with THY and for planning on which new markets the two might enter on a joint basis.
On February 25, ex-convict and Turkish citizen Mehmet Dag hijacks a company flight with 5 crew and 62 passengers while it is en route from Adana to Ankara, and diverts it to the southeastern city of Diyarbakir before surrendering. He claims (falsely) that a teddy bear he is holding contains explosives. Taken into custody, the man is charged with air piracy for which the government will seek a 15-year prison sentence. Diyarbakir Chief of Police Gaffar Okan tells the Associated Press that Dag, who has called himself a “martyr of God,” is a psychopath with self-inflicted razor cuts on his body.
Twice-weekly B-737-4Y0 return service is initiated on March 5 from Istanbul to Kazan, Tartarstan. Kazan is the first city in Turkistan to which THY was not the first foreign carrier, having been beaten into service at that point by Deutsche Lufthansa, A. G. on March 31, 1997.
On March 29, the carrier joins with Swissair, A. G., Austrian Airlines, A. G., TAP-Air Portugal, S. A., Sabena Belgian World Airlines, S. A., and AOM French Airlines, S. A. to form “Qualiflyer” group. Although members will retain their own identities, they will engage in a long list of joint activities, including ground handling, lounges and ticket offices, frequent flyer benefits. Collaborative activities that will be added as soon as details can be worked out include maintenance and overhaul, cargo, in-flight catering, information technology, and dutyfree concessions.
Beginning in April, Almaty is dropped as the intermediate stop on the weekly route between Istanbul and Bishkek. At Tashkent on June 18, the deputy directors of THY and Uzbekistan Airways sign a protocol that looks forward to cooperation in transportation, training, and technical matters
Passenger check-in activities at New York (JFK) are transferred on June 12 from Terminal 4W to the newly opened Terminal One. The next day, twice-weekly AVRO RJ70 roundtrips are inaugurated from Ankara to Adiyaman, in southeastern Anatolia.
The company’s homepage on the World Wide Web is revised on July 1, the same day twice-weekly AVRO RJ70 roundtrips are inaugurated from Istanbul to Skopje.
While en route from Istanbul to Tokyo on July 9, an A340-311 encounters clear-air turbulence that slightly injures six passengers four hours into the flight; the service continues to Japan.
Just after takeoff from Istanbul on a July 17 service to Ankara, an A310-203, with 175 passengers aboard, suffers an engine fire caused by a fuel leak; a safe emergency landing is made back at the point of origin and no injuries are reported.
Code-sharing between Zurich and Ankara begins on August 1 as Swissair, A. G. places its code on the THY B-737-4Q8 daily roundtrip.
En route from Ankara to Istanbul on September 14, Flight 145, an A310-203 with 84 passengers, is taken over by Turkish student Ihsan Akyus, who storms into the cockpit and points a pistol (later found to be a toy) at the head of Capt. Anil Isil. The pirate orders the Airbus diverted to the Black Sea city of Trabzon, while simultaneously demanding that Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz rescind a ban he had imposed earlier in the year on Islamic attire at Turkish universities. The two-hour incident ends in the release of the hostages and Akyus’ surrender to police. The next day, Transport Minister Arif Ahmet Denizolgun will call for “a serious punishment” for the young man’s transgression.
Departures into and out of Milan, Italy, are moved on October 25 from Linate Airport to Terminal One of Malpensa Airport.
With the release of the winter schedule on October 28, much of the carrier’s route network is changed or upgraded. From the Istanbul hub, the number of daily flights to Ankara is increased from 13 to 14 while the number to Diyarbakyr is increased from two to three. Simultaneously, service is offered to Elazyo twice weekly and to Malatya five times a week.
Based on four waves of flights, the new domestic schedule at Ankara is similarly increased. New twice-weekly return service is added to Denizli, while the number of daily roundtrips to Antalya and Trabzon is increased from two to three. Service to Gaziantep is doubled to twice daily, while those to Yzmir are flown five times a day. Frequencies from Ankara to Aory and to Samsun are operated three times a week; to Erz-incan and to Kahramanmaraph four times a week; and to Panlyurfa and to Sliirt seven times a week.
New twice-weekly service is introduced between Istanbul and Zagreb, together with a third daily roundtrip to Frankfurt. New Friday, Saturday, and Sunday flights are added to the daily roundtrips from Istanbul to Stuttgart, while the schedule is adjusted to show six weekly roundtrips to Hamburg, five to Nuremberg and Baku, and four to Basel. All code-share flights remain as before.
Just after takeoff from Adana on an October 30 service to Ankara, a B-737-4Y0 with s6 crew and 38 passengers is hijacked by armed Kurdish freedom fighter Mursel Peker, who demands that the aircraft be flown to Lausanne, Switzerland. Instead, the plane lands at Ankara, which the gunman has been tricked into thinking is Sofia, Bulgaria, a refueling stop. As part of the ruse, the government has ordered all airport lights turned off and the mosques in nearby villages are told not to hold prayers.
As negotiations are conducted over the next seven hours, the hijacker, closed up in the cockpit, is unaware that security troops have come aboard and evacuated all of the passengers and cabin crew. Finally, commandos storm the cockpit and kill Peker. Police will later reveal that the dead man had been wanted for the 1994 murder of three teachers and a policeman.
In a ceremony presided over by Turkish Prime Minister Mesut Yil-maz, THY, on November 4, receives six of the Next Generation B-737-8Y0s ordered the previous December. The mass delivery of the new planes is one of the largest in the history of commercial aircraft. They are christened Rize, Diyarbakir, Hatay, Afyon, Mardin, and Igdir.
Customer bookings climb 2.3% this year to 10.5 million, while freight traffic inches up 1.7% to 260.52 million FTKs. Revenues inch up 0.8% to $1.36 billion, while costs climb 1.3% to $1.34 billion. There is an operating loss of $24 million and a net gain of $21 million.
Service continues in 1999. Daily roundtrips are inaugurated on March 14 from Istanbul to the tourist and historic community of Nevsehir. At the same time, the number of weekly roundtrips from Istanbul to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, is doubled from one to two.
NATO countries find it necessary to unite and commence a military campaign against Serbian military targets in a campaign to compel Belgrade to accept a peace agreement with the ethnic Albanians fighting for an independent Kosovo. Operation Allied Force, the bombing attack on targets in Serbia and Kosovo, begins on March 24.
As the aerial operation continues, Serbian forces drive ethnic Albanians from Kosovo into Albania and Macedonia, creating a humanitarian crisis. On March 31, Greece, a member of NATO opposed to the campaign and a traditional foe of fellow-NATO member Turkey, nevertheless grants permission for Turkey to begin a humanitarian airlift to Tirana. This is the first time Greece has ever opened its airspace to Turkish cargo planes.
Three MNG Airlines Cargo, A. O. and THY freighters transport 36 tons of food and medicine from the Red Crescent organization to Albania. Additional aircraft fly missions daily thereafter for the duration of the conflict.
All THY flights become nonsmoking on April 1, the same day new services are introduced for business-class passengers.
Just after takeoff on April 7 from Adana on a service to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to return Hadj pilgrims, a B-747-4Y0 with 6 crew becomes engulfed in flames and crashes into a field outside of the town of Ceyhan, some 25 mi. from the airfield. There are no survivors. A Second A340-313X is delivered on April 22.
Weekly roundtrips to Beijing begin on May 19. Plans to start summer flights to Barcelona, Warsaw, and Prague must be shelved. Twice-weekly B-737-4Y0 roundtrips are initiated on May 26 linking Istanbul with the Crimena capital city of Simferopol.
With the end of Operation Allied Force on June 11, NATO reopens the airspace over Macedonian to commercial traffic. Consequently, THY resumes thrice-weekly service to Skopje on June 25. In addition, new thrice-weekly return flights are started from Istanbul to Algiers on June 28; weekly flights between Istanbul and Vienna are increased from 11 to 12 on June 30. Twice-weekly roundtrips to Tripoli are resumed on July 14.
Delivered on September 15, a new Next Generation B-737-8F2 arrives from Seattle with a cargo of relief supplies for distribution in the earthquake disaster area. With the beginning of the winter schedule at the end of October, THY introduces the “wave system” of aircraft arrivals and departures at Ankara, with four flights now made daily to regional cities.
At the beginning of October, the wreck of a BAe 146 that had crashed at Samsun in January 1998 is sold to a local businessman for conversion into a restaurant. The deal will later fall through and the hulk will be acquired by CityFlyer Express, Ltd. for use as a cabin trainer.
In December, the leases of five of the carrier’s nine Avro RJ100s are extended. Passenger boardings inch up 0.4% to 10,541,000 while cargo traffic jumps 18.2% to 288.25 million FTKs. A net loss of $121 million is suffered.
The workforce at the beginning of 2000 totals 9,712. The “classic” B-737 fleet now includes 13 Dash-4Y0s, 3 Dash-4Q8s, and 2 Dash-5Y0s, all of which are leased. Also flown are 15 Next Generation B-737-8F2s.
While taking off from Istanbul on a January 1 service to Johannesburg, an A340-311 collides with a flock of seagulls, knocking out two of the four engines on the Airbus and damaging its radar. A safe emergency return to the point of origin is completed and no injuries are reported. A substitute aircraft is located and emergency repairs are effected on the A340.
The previous day’s bird-stricken Airbus is assigned to operate the company’s Istanbul to New York (JFK) service on January 3. Shortly after departure, the aircraft is forced to return due to a technical problem. Once repairs are made, the aircraft, already late, takes off for New York a second time. About an hour out, the technical fault reoccurs, forcing another return to Istanbul. The third departure is successful and the New York service is finally completed, many hours behind schedule.
On a more mundane January note, the company renews leases for five of its nine Avro RJ100s, and on January 26 takes delivery of a 16th B-737-8F2. A new international terminal is also opened at Istanbul Airport. A new domestic terminal is scheduled for completion in 2002.
A comprehensive code-sharing agreement is signed with American Airlines on February 28. On March 22, new daily roundtrip service is inaugurated between Istanbul and the Greek city of Thessaloniki. Two more Next Generation B-737-8F2s now arrive, one each on March 31 and April 3. The last of three A340-313Xs delivered since August 1997 is accepted on April 21.
After landing at Siirt in southeast Turkey in heavy rain after its April 22 service from Ankara, Flight 774, an Avro RJ70, skids off the runway; 5 passengers and 2 crew of the 46 passengers are injured. The aircraft is damaged beyond repair.
The last three of six Next Generation B-737-8F2s to be delivered this year are accepted on May 12, May 17, and June 1, respectively.
A340-311 return service from Istanbul to Shanghai, via Beijing, is increased to thrice weekly on June 6.
Unhappy with their working conditions, air traffic controllers begin a “go slow” policy at Turkish airports; the potential for mistakes increases dramatically.
Daily roundtrips are inaugurated from Istanbul to Chisinau on September 1. A similar service to Warsaw begins on September 15.
A code-sharing agreement is signed with Cathay Pacific Airways (Pty.), Ltd. on September 22 covering service over the Hong Kong to Istanbul route.
Under a new October 1 code-sharing agreement with THY, American Airlines is able to place its designator on THY services from Istanbul to New York (JFK), Chicago (ORD), and Miami. The Turkish line is permitted to code-share on AA domestic flights from those gateways.
The “go slow” policy of the ATC almost results in midair collisions for THY B-737s three times between October 21 and October 24. In the first incident on October 21, the pilot of a “Baby Boeing” on final descent to Ankara on a service from Istanbul, visually identifies a Turkish military plane headed directly at him at 7,000 ft. Altitude is immediately gained and a crash is averted, though several of the 150 passengers are shaken. At 27,900 ft. over the Black Sea later in the day, the TCAS of another B-737, with 155 passengers, sounds; after sighting the lights of an unidentified Russian aircraft, the pilot is able to change course. Ascending to 13,200 ft. after takeoff from Izmir on October 24, the TCAS of yet another B-737, with 150 passengers, sounds a warning of imminent collision with another aircraft; the accident is averted when the 737 halts its ascent.
Also during October, Privatization Minister Yuksel Yalova reveals that the government has decided to change its previous stance and instead of keeping it, will sell off a majority 51% stake in the airline at an early date.
On December 7, Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit announces that his government will initiate a public offering for the 51% portion of THY that it had earlier agreed to put up for sale. The initial public offering, which will begin by December 14, comes as a response by Turkey to an agreement it has signed with the International Monetary Fund. Under the pact, the IMF has agreed to provide $10 billion in credits to help the country surmount fiscal problems while the deregulation of key economic sectors moves forward.
Within a few days, Minister Yalova informs the press that the government shareholding in THY will be 24% when the privatization process is completed.
TIANJIN AIRLINE COMPANY, LTD.: Zhangquizhuang Airport, Tianjin, Tian Jin, Hebei, 300300, China; Phone 86 (22) 439-4104; Fax 86 (22) 494-4105; Year Founded 1996. TA is set up at Tianjin in 1996 to offer scheduled and charter domestic passenger services. Jiang Gue Dong is named president and he launches revenue flights with 4 leased Boeing 737-300s.
Although it is understood that this provincial carrier continues to operate in the period after the beginning of the Asian economic crisis in 1998, no definite informaiton has been located to that effect.
TIE AVIATION (TRANS-INTERNATIONAL EXPRESS): Building 179, P. O. Box 300994, John F. Kennedy International Airport, Jamaica, New York 11727, United States; Phone (718) 244-8909; Fax (718) 244-8912; Http://www. iflytie. com; Code 5B; Year Founded
1993. Founded by Jacob Lamdan, TIE Aviation is incorporated at New York City in 1993 to sell cargo space to freight forwarders to designations in Central America, Puerto Rico, and Israel. In August 1996, the company receives its FAA Part 135 operator’s certificate and joins IATA.
Late in the year, interline agreements are initiated with Continental Airlines, Pan American World Airways (2), Tower Air, and Carnival Air Lines. Revenue passenger charters commence with a fleet comprising 1 each Piper PA-23 Aztec and PA-31-350 Navajo Chieftain.
Flights continue in 1997 and plans are made late in the year to inaugurate several daily roundtrips linking JFK with Albany, Burlington, Atlantic City, Hartford, and Washington, D. C. Four-times-a-week service to both Atlantic City and Hartford becomes a reality.
The company begins working with the FAA on a Part 121 certificate. The agreement with Carnival Air Lines ends when that company is merged into Pan American World Airways (2) in September.
During the spring of 1998, a whole new management team is put in place, headed by former Northwest Airlines executive Thomas Ronell as president, ex-Deutsche Lufthansa, A. G. official Michael Winkler as director of business development, and onetime director of operations and chief pilot of Block Island Airlines Robert Tidler to hold the same post with TIE Aviation.
These gentlemen devise a plan to provide scheduled commuter links for nonaffiliated JFK-based international airlines to destinations within an hour’s flying time of the airport. To accomplish this end, the paperwork is completed to upgrade TIE’s operating certificate to FAR Part 121 standard and orders are placed for three previously used Shorts 360-300s.
The premier Shorts is received during the first week of July and upon receipt of the new FAR authority, is employed in August to launch daily roundtrips to Philadelphia. Another 360-300 enters service in November.
A third Shorts 360-300 is acquired early in 1999. On June 17, company officials unveil plans to begin roundtrip services from New York (JFK) to Tel Aviv, Israel, on September 1 employing a Boeing 747-312 leased from Singapore Airlines, Ltd.
Although the cargo service is not started, Shorts flights continue in 2000.
World History
