Turkish Airlines will keep growth in check at newly spun-out low-cost unit AJet amid ongoing aircraft availability challenges, after cutting capacity by 5% in the third quarter amid moves to help improve the carrer’s on-time performance.
The low-cost carrier, the former Anadolu Jet which relaunched as a separate unit under the AJet brand earlier this year, saw its on-time performance falter towards the end of the second quarter – partly due to unplanned maintenance as it was flying more older aircraft than planned because of aircraft delivery delays and the grounding of some Pratt & Whitney GTF-powered Airbus narrowbodies.
AJet reduced its capacity by 5% in the third quarter, as it assigned more back-up aircraft to support the carrier’s flight schedule.
”We have addressed the on-time performance issues of AJet,” said Turkish Airlines chief financial officer Murat Seker during a third quarter earnings call on 5 November. ”AJet operations are stabilised and its on-time performance is above the industry average.”
However, with little respite in aircraft availability challenges given the recent machinists strike at Boeing and the continued impact of GTF engine inspections – Seker says Turkish has 42 aircraft currently grounded, which will rise to a peak of 45 around year-end – Turkish plans to keep operation support measures in place at AJet for the near-term. As a result, AJet capacity for the year will be flat versus 2023.
”We strongly believe in AJet’s potential and the initiatives we have taken with AJet to increase its sales,” he says. ”The ratio of online sales of total sales went up from 40% to almost 48% in about six months and we have successfully adapted the new passenger services system and ancillary revenue generation has been increased in AJet.
”These are the targeted steps we wanted to take when we were separating AJet, and all those operational [steps] seem to be moving in line with our projections.”
