Turkish Airlines Cargo has reported it continues to show rapid growth despite stagnation in the global air cargo market.

“Turkish Airlines Cargo is quickly advancing toward its target of growing by 20 per cent in 2013 based on tonnage carried; meanwhile, the worldwide air cargo business volume fell roughly 1 per cent in the years 2011 and 2013,” the company said in a statement.

It said Turkish Airlines is undergoing a period of notable progress.  Over the past eight years, the company tripled the size of its fleet, its service capacity, and the number of destinations it serves. “Turkish Airlines Cargo now has a fleet of more than 230 aircraft-nine of which are cargo planes-that fly to more than 240 locations worldwide. The company runs direct flights to more countries than all other airlines in the world,” it stated.

In light of Turkey’s $500 billion export target for 2023, Turkish Airlines Cargo “continues its efforts to discover more ways to offer exporters advantages directly in an innovative fashion and as a whole team,” it said. 

The company attends export support meetings of exporters’ associations across Turkey as a guest. It highlighted its contribution to Turkish exports through its cargo operations and said exporters enjoyed advantages on a product basis and the possibility of expanding business volumes. Air cargo constitutes 14 per cent of exports compared to the situation worldwide where this figure rises to 35 per cent, it said. “Therefore, penetration could be achieved in a faster, stronger way in markets where wares are bought simply by carrying out enough of the transportation via air cargo to fill that gap,” it added.

The statement also noted that in addition to the growth of its cargo network capacity, Turkish Airlines is significantly revising its infrastructural and procedural processes. To support capacity increases in the air with increased capacity on the ground, capacity at the Cargo Centre was boosted by 37 per cent to 20,000 sq m following renovations. Another 10,000 sq m of space is in the process of being added. Additionally a new 43,000 sq m cargo centre for Turkish Airlines Cargo is being built. The company offers three days of warehousing without charge to its exporters.

STRATEGY

Discussing its goals, Turkish Airlines said it plans to penetrate new markets to develop business on a long-term basis. The commercial section is actively engaged in “consultative selling” rather than focusing on short-term sales goals. The company has been holding talks with its customers for projects with an extended ramp up time. Considering the emergence of new markets recently and in view of the need to have a stronger presence overseas, the unit price gains as much importance as delivery speed, the airline observed.

“From this perspective, Turkish Airlines Cargo is generally able to offer freight fees that can support our exporters in the countries of Africa and Southeast Asia, in addition to single-rate pricing for all of Turkey, as a result of which it is able to bump up its international competitive position by a few steps. Additionally, relatively advantageous freight fees can occasionally be offered for the Western and Northern European countries that attract the bulk of our exports, depending on other modes of transport,” it stated.