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Cyprus Turkish Airlines

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Cyprus Turkish Airlines
Kıbrıs Türk Hava Yolları
IATA ICAO Call sign
YK KYV AIRKIBRIS
Founded1974
Commenced operations1975
HubsErcan International Airport
Fleet size8
Destinations19
HeadquartersNicosia, Cyprus
Key peopleAhmet Akpinar (President)
Websitehttp://www.kthy.net/
A KTHY Boeing 737-800 at Antalya Airport, Turkey, wearing 2000-2009 livery. (2005)

Cyprus Turkish Airlines Limited (Turkish: Kıbrıs Türk Hava Yolları Ltd. Şti. (KTHY)) is a Cypriot airline that is the flag carrier for the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, and is based north of Nicosia, the capital of Northern Cyprus.

Scheduled flights are operated from Ercan Northern Cyprus to several cities in Turkey, the United Kingdom and Western / Northern Europe. KTHY has its main base at Ercan International Airport situated near Nicosia in Northern Cyprus.[1].

Although it is de jure registered as a Turkish airline in Istanbul, all the shares are owned by the Turkish Cypriot government. [citation needed] Day-to-day operations are run from Ercan, Northern Cyprus. All services to Europe make a short stop at a city in mainland Turkey.

History

Cyprus Turkish Airline was established on 4 December 1974 in Nicosia with shares equally divided between THY and the Cash Development of the Consolidated Fund of the Assembly of the Turkish Cypriot Community (Konsolide Fonu Inkisaf Sandigi). The first scheduled flight was operated on the 3 February 1975.

In 2005 the Turkish government sold its shareholding to Ada Havayollari.[2]

Timeline

A KTHY Boeing 737-800 takes off from London Heathrow Airport, England. (2007)
A KTHY Airbus A321 at Manchester Airport, England. (2006)
Year Events
1975 The first scheduled flight was operated on 3 February, 1975
1976 Aircraft of types included DC-9, Boeing 727-200 and Boeing 707(720) first on a lease basis
1976 Sales office opened in Kyrenia
1977 KTHY is registered as a Turkish company in Istanbul, Turkey [3]
1981 Launch of scheduled flights to London (UK)
1990 2 Boeing 727-200 purchased
1991 Ground operations staff and cockpit / cabin crew employed
1992 Introduced its own premises for catering
1993 Third Boeing 727-200 purchased
1995 First Airbus A310-200 purchased
1996 Fourth Boeing 727-200 purchased
1999 Second Airbus A310-200 purchased
2000 2 Boeing 737-800's were long term leased
2001 Third Boeing 737-800 is long termed leased
2002 All 4 Boeing 727-200's, upon completion of technical flight hours, grounded and sold
2004 3 Airbus A321-200's were long terms leased.[4]
2004 Caretta in-flight magazine re-introduced
2006 ISO 9001-2000 Quality Control System certificate obtained in April
2006 Scheduled flights to Gaziantep commenced on 18 June
2006 Scheduled flights to Trabzon commenced on 2 September
2006 DCS system introduced and used for the first time at Ercan Airport
2006 Ground services in airports of Turkey passed on to "HAVAŞ" in December
2007 "Cyprus Airport Services" were formed after KTHY's partnership with "HAVAŞ"
2007 Scheduled flights to Birmingham (UK) commenced on 21 May
2008 Fourth Boeing 737-800 purchased, to be delivered in February 2009
2008 First the time in the history of KTHY, employment of male cabin staff
2008 Protocol signed with DETUR for flights to Sweden, Norway and Finland
2009 First flight to Scandinavia scheduled for 7 February 2009 to Helsinki
2009 Charter flights planned to operate to Italy, Romania, Slovenia and Hungary
2009 Delivery of a Airbus A320-200
2009 They announce they will be extending their fleet to 12 aircraft by 2012
2009 Fourth Boeing 737-800 is delivered

Destinations

Cyprus Turkish Airlines Destinations:

Note: All flights to Germany are via Antalya Airport. Flights to the United Kingdom via a variety of airports in Turkey. [5]

International charter destinations at the moment: [citation needed]

In December 2006, the airline made a formal application to the UK Civil Aviation Authority for a licence to operate non-stop flights between UK airports and Ercan International Airport (ECN) in Northern Cyprus. The application was turned down in February 2007. [6]

In April 2008, the airline signed a business contract with a travel agency in Germany called 'Oger Turk Tur'. The point of this contract was to be able to bring more tourists to Northern Cyprus (T.R.N.C.) since Germany is one of the top countries that generates a high level of outbound tourist traffic. According to this contract, Cyprus Turkish Airlines will fly to 8 new destinations in Germany, with one specially leased aircraft operating up to 14 flights a week. KTHY has confirmed that they will also fly to Cologne/Bonn and Stuttgart (Germany), not forming part of the 8 new charter destinations). [7] Although it is not officially announced by airlines, rumors suggest that, because of slot problems at Istanbul, it is still uncertain whether the project will go ahead. It is, however, confirmed that for the summer seaon of 2009, there will be one weekly scheduled flight each to both Cologne and Stuttgart via Antalya.

In summer 2009, KTHY will also launch charter flights from Italy, Romania, Hungary and Slovenia. [citation needed]

Fleet

A KTHY Airbus A321, named "Iskele", taking off from Manchester Airport, England. (2009)

The KHTY (Cyprus Turkish Airlines) fleet consisted of the following aircraft (at 12 May 2009): [8]

KTHY Fleet
Aircraft Total Passengers Notes
Airbus A310-200 1 Stored
Airbus A320-200 2 Operated by Turkuaz Airlines
Airbus A321-200 2 209
220 		(Lefke, İskele)
Boeing 737-800 4 177 (Güzelyurt, Karpaz, Mağusa, Mesarya)
  • Most of the KTHY fleet spend the night at Ercan, however sometimes some of the planes spend the night at a Turkish Airport

The Cyprus Observer revealed that KTHY (Cyprus Turkish Airlines) will be extending their fleet to 12 aircraft which will all be in service by 2012 and all will wear the airlines updated livery. [citation needed]

The KHTY (Cyprus Turkish Airlines) average fleet age is 6.3 years (at 12 May 2009). [9]

Former Fleet

Incidents and Accidents

  • March 30, 1998 - Mehmet Ertürk hijaked a Cyprus Turkish Airlines plane. He was carrying a lighter in the form of a hand granade. The plane was on its way from Ercan to Ankara, the plane landed safely in Ankara and the hijacker was arrested.

Services

Travel Classes

KTHY Only offers 2 classes:

  • Economy.

This class is offered on all of new and currently used aircraft. Full meal or snack service is provided in Economy Class free of charge. However in-flight entertainment programmes not offered.

  • Economy Plus (Business class).

This class has been newly introduced by KTHY (Cyprus Turkish Airlines) after years of cancelling their Business and First class services caused by the grounding of Airbus A310 and Boeing 727 aircraft. This class service will go active once the 2 new aircraft have been delivered to KTHY. On June the 1st KTHY got their new aircraft and still in waiting for the second from Airbus. However having KTHY have an Airbus for sale will mean they are one Airbus down. According to KTHY, "Economy Plus" will offer improved seating and in-flight entertainment will also be available.

Cabin Crew

Since the formation of KTHY (Cyprus Turkish Airlines), all flight attendants have always been female. It was announced on the website by KTHY that, from the beginning of July 2008 at the start of the summer schedule season, male flight attendants will join as cabin crew members.

Express Check In

The airline introduced an Express Check-in in early 2008 at the KTHY base airport of Ercan (Northern Cyprus). Passengers with only hand baggage can make use of this service. There are separate express check-in counters for passengers with only hand baggage and those without any baggage.

Frequent Flyer Programme

The airline has a "Special Passenger Programme for Frequent Flyers..." for those who fly with KTHY frequently. The benefits of this programme are a priority seat reservations, no waiting at check-in, extra baggae allowance and the ability to gain points towards free travel.[11]

Caretta Magazine

This in-flight magazine is produced once a month for KTHY, and is normally placed in the seat pocket. Caretta normally gives information about the culture of Northern Cyprus and the places you could visit. Also featured is information about upcoming events in Northern Cyprus etc.

References

  1. ^ "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International. 2007-04-03. p. 101.
  2. ^ "Directory: World Airlines Part 2 (C-L)". Flight International: 31-80. 2009-04-07.
  3. ^ http://www.kthy.net/kthyen/html/about_kthy.htm
  4. ^ KTHY
  5. ^ http://www.kthy.net
  6. ^ Direct flights for Ercan turned down - Turkish Daily News Feb 24, 2007
  7. ^ KIBRIS GAZETESI :. İç Haberler
  8. ^ KTHY Fleet
  9. ^ KTHY Fleet Age
  10. ^ [1]
  11. ^ [2]
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