Turkish Delight

Founded in 1991 and headquartered in the Kurtköy area of Pendik, Istanbul, Pegasus Airlines is a Turkish low-cost air-carrier. The airline is named for the Greek mythological winged horse sired by Poseidon and foaled by the Gorgon Medusa—a curious genealogy best left un-scrutinized.

Pegasus Airlines has signed an agreement with Airbus by which the airline will take delivery of 36 new A321neo narrow-body jets. The acquisition is consistent with the air-carrier’s aspirations to modernize its fleet, thereby saving fuel, reducing CO2-emissions, and upping profits.

By dint of 2017, 2021, and 2022 amendments to an original 2012 aircraft order, Pegasus has secured a total of 150 new Airbus jets—of which 108 are A321neos.

The airline is slated to take deliveries of its 36 newly-ordered jets by the end of 2029.

In a statement pertaining to the latest purchase agreement, Pegasus Airlines CEO Güliz Öztürk set forth: "We embarked on our journey with the belief that everyone has the right to fly and today, we remain equally dedicated to operational efficiency, financial performance, and sustainability for our industry and the world.”

Ms. Öztürk continued: “With these goals in mind, we continue to work diligently and determinedly towards our strategy of fleet modernization, focusing on fuel and unit cost savings, and emission reductions. Through our recent agreement with Airbus, by adding 36 new 239-seater A321neo aircraft, which are the most efficient aircraft type in their class, we will both expand and modernize our fleet.”

Noting Pegasus’s fleet is among the youngest of those operated by global low-cost air-carriers, Öztürk added: "With an average age of 4.5-years, we operate the youngest fleet in Turkey. … This efficiency makes a significant contribution to reducing fuel consumption and emissions.”

Ms. Öztürk concluded: “We are actively pursuing many more initiatives on the road to net-zero. In addition to our fleet transformation with new generation aircraft, we are moving towards this goal through our operational efficiency efforts, increasing our use of sustainable aviation fuel, and our focus on alternative energy sources. In 2023 and beyond, our main goal will be to maintain and advance our leading position in the industry with our innovative, rational, principled, and responsible approach.”

Comfortably seating up to 244 passengers and incorporating new generation engines and Sharklets (Airbus’s proprietary winglet design), the A321neo is the longest (fuselage) member of Airbus’s single-aisle A320 family. Worldwide, A320-derivative aircraft—which include the A318, A319, A319neo, A320, A320 Enhanced, A320neo, and A321neo—number nearly eleven-thousand specimens.

The A321neo’s noise signature and fuel-burn are respectively fifty and 25-percent lower than those of the consortium’s previous generation single-aisle aircraft. Entering service with launch customer Air France in April 1988, the A320 family has since competed with Boeing’s 737 family of narrow-body airliners and Embraer’s E190 and E195 E-Jets. 

FMI: www.airbus.com