Global Environmental Sustainability Award Winner Interview
Few airlines can claim to have transformed their sustainability performance as rapidly or thoroughly as Pegasus Airlines.
The past decade has seen the Turkish airline grown from a small regional airline into one of the most successful LCCs globally - more than doubling passenger traffic and tripling the size of its network.
At the same time the airline has rapidly transformed its fleet, with mostly A320neo and A321neo aircraft in service, and another 52 aircraft scheduled for delivery between 2025 and 2029.
Concurrently, Pegasus has become a world leader in terms of unit emissions and broader planning and performance around 'Environment, Sustainability and Governance' initiatives. The airline has set sustainability as one of its key strategic priorities, and, as a result, has integrated sustainability targets into its planning process and in the setting of its discrete goal under an ambitious 'Climate Transition Roadmap'.
This has resulted in the airline setting out discrete and achievable short-term sustainability targets, along with long-term aspirational and transformational goals.
These include: a 20% reduction in per RPK emissions (compared to 2019) by 2030; targets around annual fuel efficiency; steps towards electrification of ground equipment; and increasing renewable energy use.
All of these are being undertaken as part of the wider roadmap that aims to meet the wider industry ambition of net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Güliz Öztürk, CEO of Pegasus Airlines said: "We are deeply honoured to receive this special award from CAPA, which is a testament to the hard work and dedication that drives our Environment, Sustainability and Governance (ESG) efforts at every level. Working towards our industry's Net Zero 2050 goal, we are pushing forward with strategic investments in next-generation aircraft, expanding our use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), and embracing innovative technologies - each a vital pillar of our Climate Transition Roadmap. I extend my heartfelt thanks and gratitude to every one of my colleagues at Pegasus Airlines who remain unwavering in our commitment to a more sustainable future."