Pegasus Airlines bets on liberalisation in Turkey’s international market with 100-aircraft order

Turkish low-cost carrier Pegasus Airlines is placing a big bet that Turkey's market will liberalise over the next decade, enabling the carrier to expand its fleet to between 100 and 140 aircraft. Pegasus currently operates 43 narrowbody aircraft and has been negotiating since last year with Airbus and Boeing an order for 100 A320neos or Boeing 737-800 MAX. Pegasus CEO Sertac Haybat said on the sidelines of last week's CAPA Airlines in Transition CEO Summit in Istanbul that he expects the 100-aircraft order will be placed within one month and deliveries will be spread out over six to seven years.

My Haybat expects the new aircraft will primarily be used to accelerate expansion of Pegasus' international network, including to new destinations in the Indian subcontinent that are not within range of its fleet of current generation 737-800s. But he acknowledges international expansion will only be possible if bilaterals are liberalised.