Achieving over 80% load factor in domestic lines

SunExpress Starts Flying Between Izmir and Gaziantep

The first airline company to have direct flights from İzmir to Anatolia, SunExpress added a new route to its schedule and started to operate direct flights between İzmir and Gaziantep 3 times a week. Tour operators and important businessmen from İzmir and around also joined to the first İzmir-Gaziantep flight.

Speaking at the press conference held at Gaziantep,"Our strategy to choose İzmir as a base for our domestic operations have proved itself right' said Paul Schwaiger, Managing Director of SunExpress. Schwaiger told that they were highly excited to connect Gaziantep residents to İzmir. Schwaiger also released the performance numbers of SunExpress during the first seven months 2006 and stated that the company grew by one third compared to same period last year. Schwaiger said, "Despite a decline in tourism to Turkey, we managed to carry more than 1,2 million passengers which is 33% more than last year and improved our revenue by 26% to 128,2 million Euro."

Hacı Say, Deputy Managing Director of SunExpress made a presentation at the conference reminding that SunExpress started to its domestic flights at March 26, 2006. He said, "When we evaluate the period between the end of March and the end of July, we see that our seat load factor climbed over 80% in only 4 months. Say also added, "By the end of last year, we had foreseen that the Anatolian cities had reached to enough economic adequacy to support direct flights between each other without the need for a connection at Istanbul or Ankara. The high load factors we achieved not only proved us right but also helped us to open new routes. Today, we are extremely happy to connect Gaziantep, Turkey´s 6th biggest city to İzmir and to Aegean Region with our direct flights. We are confident that Gaziantep residents, who have 10 companies at the first 500 companies of Turkey, will create more business and tourism potential with the help of these direct flights"

Tour operators and businessmen from İzmir came together with their colleagues in Gaziantep by joining SunExpress´ first flight. Aegean Region Chamber of Industry (EBSO) Chairman Tamer Taşkın visited Gaziantep Chamber of Industry Chairman Nejat Koçer.