Turkish Airlines reported strong second-quarter and first-half figures for 2015, but the carrier said revenues for its cargo operation fell in both periods ending June 30, year-over-year. But while revenue was down, so were expenses, fuel in particular. Much of the decline was fuel surcharges, which has not affected the cargo department’s bottom line performance. Additionally, passenger revenue was down 8 percent.
The carrier reported a quarterly net profit of US$253 million, outperforming Q2 of 2014, which had a net profit of $190 million. In the first six months of 2015, a period with severe fuel price and currency fluctuations, Turkish said net profit skyrocketed to $406 million, compared to $88 million in the same period of 2014.
While revenue for belly cargo in the first half totaled $273 million – a rise of $3 million, year-on-year – Q2 belly revenue fell by $1 million to $142 million, y-o-y. On the freighter side, first-half revenue dipped from $210 million to $192 million, y-o-y, and Q2 revenue slipped from $106 million in 2014 to $99 million this year.
Turkish Airlines flies to 50 domestic and 230 international destinations, in 110 countries. The Istanbul-based carrier operates 290 aircraft, comprising 69 widebodies, 212 narrowbodies and 9 cargo aircraft, and has made 23 aircraft additions so far in 2015.