Low-cost carrier Pegasus Airlines has established a significant presence across Turkey during its three decades of existence. With a main hub at Istanbul’s Sabiha Gökçen Airport, and other bases throughout the country, Pegasus boasts a young fleet consisting of narrowbodies from Airbus and Boeing. But how might this makeup change in years to come?
As part of the World Aviation Festival, Simple Flying had the chance to speak to Pegasus’ Chief Commercial Officer, Güliz Öztürk, who was able to shed some light on the matter.
The current Pegasus Airlines fleet
Let’s start by establishing the current makeup of the aircraft available to Pegasus Airlines. The Turkish low-cost carrier reports that it presently has 91 aircraft at its disposal. Pegasus Airlines’ fleet is also rather young, clocking in at an average age of just 5.15 years old. The exact nature of the aircraft that it flies is broken down as follows.
- Airbus A320-200 – 12 examples.
- Airbus A320neo – 44 examples.
- Airbus A321neo – 7 examples.
- Boeing 737-800 – 28 examples.
Phasing out the Boeing 737
Historically speaking, Pegasus has also operated aircraft from the Boeing 737-400 and 737-500 variants, alongside a further 55 737-800s. As such, with the 737-800 also being the carrier’s oldest aircraft type by average age, it would not be unreasonable to assume that it will have less of a role to play in its future plans. Öztürk confirmed this prioritization, stating:
“By the end of 2021, we will have taken seven new aircraft from the Airbus A320neo family, with a total of nine Boeing 737-800 aircraft exiting the fleet.”
This aligns with Pegasus Airlines’ wider fleet strategy, which is “to operate a single-type fleet.” It looks set to make significant progress towards this goal next year. Öztürk explains that:
“Based on our current plans, we will take delivery of 20 new A321neo aircraft in 2022, meaning that, by the end of next year, three quarters of our fleet will consist of aircraft from the A320neo family.”
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All-Airbus by the middle of the decade
In terms of when Pegasus Airlines will have phased out all of its Boeing twinjets, the Turkish low-cost carrier has set the middle of the present decade as a benchmark. All the while, it will replace the type with newer Airbus narrowbodies. On this subject, Öztürk commented that:
“We anticipate that our existing 737-800 aircraft will be phased out and exit by 2025, after which we expect to operate only Airbus aircraft. By the end of 2025, we expect to add more than 50 new aircraft from the Airbus A320neo family to our fleet from our order.”
Of course, if the last two years have taught us anything, it’s that the airline industry can be a volatile and unpredictable market due to the influence of external global factors. With this in mind, Pegasus Airlines’ fleet strategy remains “subject to change based on any developments which may arise in the market conditions and capacity requirements.”
Pegasus Airlines’ Airbus A320neo orders
In December 2012, Pegasus Airlines grabbed headlines when it “made the single largest aircraft order in Turkish civil aviation history at the time.” As Öztürk explained, this included:
- 57 Airbus A320neos.
- 43 Airbus A320neos.
Overall, the 100-aircraft order, which included 25 options, equated to a list price total of $12 billion. This October, Pegasus Airlines supplemented this with a six-aircraft order for more A321neos, for which deliveries to the Istanbul-based carrier will begin in 2024.
In addition to the new A321neos, Pegasus Airlines has also converted some of its A320neo orders in favor of the stretched-fuselage option. Öztürk told simple Flying that:
“In the second and the third quarters of 2020, 15 new A320neo aircraft, which were scheduled to be delivered in 2021 and 2022, were upgraded to new A321neo aircraft to be delivered in 2022, 2023, and 2025.”
Why the A320neo family?
Pegasus Airlines evidently has a strong commitment to the Airbus A320neo family. As such, it has no plans to replace its Boeing 737-800s with the new 737 MAX. Airbus’ next generation narrowbodies are a perfect fit for Pegasus Airlines, as Öztürk explains:
“These aircraft also allow us to implement our next stage of growth as we continue to expand our flight network and fleet capacity.”
The A320neo family will also help Pegasus develop sustainably. Öztürk adds that:
“Our new A320neo aircraft set a new benchmark in flight comfort, seamlessness, cost-efficiency, and ease across our entire fleet, as well as bringing in a new era for more eco-friendly travel by reducing fuel per seat-mile costs by 15% compared to its counterparts, and reducing emissions and providing more quiet travel, thus allowing us to take steps in a greener direction.”
Not planning to order the A321XLR
As has become abundantly clear, the Airbus A320neo series will play an enormous role at Pegasus Airlines in years to come. Recent developments in the carrier’s order book show that it will particularly favour the family’s stretched-fuselage A321neo variant. But does this mean that it might be interested in sub-variants such as the longer-range A321XLR?
As it happens, Öztürk confirmed to Simple Flying that this would not be the case, stating:
“At present, we have no such plans to add an A321XLR to our fleet. However, we would consider these options if doing so aligns with our fleet strategy in the future. Based on our current plans, all our new aircraft to be delivered after 2021 are of the A321neo type.”
It was fascinating to hear about Pegasus’ fleet strategy plans for the coming years. It will be exciting to see its average age fall as more A320neo series jets come onboard.
What do you make of Pegasus Airlines’ fleet strategy? Have you ever flown with the Turkish low-cost carrier? Let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comments!
