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An almost 90-year-old flag carrier has revealed its ambitious plans for the future.

As it approaches its 90th anniversary, Turkish Airlines has announced its future plans for the next decade between the years 2023 and 2033. The Turkish national airline aims to achieve ambitious plans in the following years, including significant financial growth, a larger fleet, and an expanded employee and passenger base, according to its recent report.

800 aircraft by 2033

Back in 1933, the airline started its operations with a modest fleet of five aircraft. Throughout the years of operation, Turkish Airlines has significantly expanded its fleet to 390 aircraft, with 23 aircraft being used on an ACMI basis, according to ch-aviation.com data. The airline's fleet has an average age of 10.2 years.

The airline's current fleet includes a variety of aircraft types, such as the Airbus A319, A320, A321, A330, and A350,, as well as the Boeing 737, 737 MAX, 777, and 787 Dreamliner.

Turkish Airlines announced in its report that it aims to increase its fleet to 435 aircraft this year. However, the airline has an even more ambitious goal of reaching a fleet size of 800 aircraft by 2033, growing its passenger network to 400 destinations.

It is worth noting that Turkish Airlines currently has 72 aircraft on order, including 49 Airbus A321s, 14 Airbus A350s, and nine Boeing 787 Dreamliners, according to ch-aviation.com data.

Ambitious financial goals

In 2022, the airline closed its year with $2.7 billion in net income, overshadowing many other European and US carriers with its financial success. The airline’s passenger revenue grew by 28%, $14.3 billion, compared to 2021.

In a recent interview with Simple Flying, the carrier’s chairman of the board and the executive committee, Prof. Dr. Ahmet Bolat, revealed how the airline managed to achieve positive financial results.

Now, alongside the plan to expand its fleet significantly, Turkish Airlines said that it would aim to boost its consolidated revenue to $50 billion by the end of 2033. Commenting on ambitious goals, Prof. Dr. Ahmet Bolat, said:

“We are happy to share our goals that will significantly contribute to our country's economy and development in the next 10 years by declaring our strategic planning for our 100th anniversary, which we will celebrate 10 years from now.”

In addition, Turkish Airlines aims to achieve a 7% average annual growth rate to double its passenger capacity by 2033, with the goal of carrying 170 million passengers by that year. This would be a significant increase from the goal to carry over 85 million in 2023. The airline flew 71.8 million passengers across 2022, at 3% below pre-pandemic levels.

The flag carrier of Turkey currently employs 75,000 people and believes that with its projected growth, it will require at least 150,000 employees by 2033. Notably, Turkish Airlines is also looking to improve passenger experience by completing cabin transformation across its fleet.