BIOGRAPHY Born in 1982 in Istanbul, he graduated in 2007 from the Political Science & International Relations Department from the Yeditepe University in Turkey. A year later, he joined Turkish Airlines Inc. In 2012 he was appointed to Kyiv as Marketing Manager and in 2016 he was appointed as General Manager to Kyiv.

“SINCE THE BEGINNING OF TURKISH AIRLINES OPERATIONS IN UKRAINE, WE HAVE WITNESSED THE STRENGTHENING AND GROWTH OF TRADE RELATIONS BETWEEN UKRAINE AND TURKEY.”

TURKISH AIRLINES HAS GROWN TO BECAME UKRAINE'S TOP CARRIER LAST YEAR. WHAT IS YOUR STRATEGY AND KEY PRIORITIES FOR THE UKRAINIAN MARKET?

Turkish Airlines has operated on the Ukrainian market since 1993, and during this period, the airline received very positive feedback from its passengers in Ukraine as well as its industry partners. The Ukrainian market occupies an important place in the worldwide network of Turkish Airlines, thus on the 1st of July, 2020, the company resumed its passenger flights to Ukraine temporarily suspended because of lockdown, and the number of flights has been gradually increasing upon demand. Currently, Currently, Turkish Airlines operates more than 70 weekly passenger and freighter flights from Istanbul to such Ukrainian cities as Kyiv, Odesa, Lviv, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia and Mykolaiv, and 7 weekly passenger flights from Ankara to Kyiv, connecting Ukraine to the world.

Since the beginning of Turkish Airlines operations in Ukraine, we have witnessed the strengthening and growth of trade relations between Ukraine and Turkey. We are confident and through the country’s economic development, our company has been enhancing its expansion through various cities in Ukraine. The country has a lot to offer for investments with high intellectual capital and we are proud to be part of it and provide one of the best travel experience for our passengers in Ukraine with the opportunity to travel to more than 300 destinations worldwide.

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THE TURKISH BUSINESS COMMUNITY IS ONE OF THE MOST ACTIVE IN UKRAINE’S ECONOMY. WHAT IS YOUR PERSPECTIVE OF TURKISH INVESTMENTS IN UKRAINE IN THE UPCOMING YEARS?

During the course of the global pandemic, Turkish Cargo continues to provide a contribution to the sustainability of the global supply chain by building up global air bridges all around the world and transporting critical pharmaceuticals and medical supplies uninterruptedly. Despite the pandemic restrictions and challenges faced during the first half of 2020, Turkish Cargo increased its global market share to 5 percent and accomplished to carry 1 of each 20 air cargo transported worldwide. Being the flag carrier air cargo brand, Turkish Cargo, was selected as the best air cargo brand in Europe by the Air Cargo News Awards, which was held for the 36th time in 2020, and it was also deemed worthy of the “Best Cargo Airline – Europe” award. In addition, Turkish Cargo was deemed worthy of the “Overall Carrier of the Year” at the 7th “Payload Asia Awards”.

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“CURRENTLY, TURKISH AIRLINES IS THE ONLY FOREIGN CARRIER OPERATING FLIGHTS TO KYIV ON WIDE-BODY AIRCRAFT B787 DREAMLINER, PROVIDING PASSENGERS WITH THE EXCLUSIVE FLIGHT EXPERIENCE AND COMFORT.”

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In 2020 Turkish Cargo, which continued its acceleration of growth in respect of Ukraine as well, exhibited a growth performance of 37.4% as compared to the previous year, in respect of the mail and cargo shipments departing from Ukraine. Considering the data about the cargo and mail tonnage, transported as destined to Ukraine, growth performance was 6.7% as compared to the previous year. During passenger flights lockdown we were operating daily flights to Ukraine and carrying cargo by freighter and passenger aircraft, and currently, when passenger flights have been resumed, we operate 2 freighter flights a week.

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WHAT IS THE PROFILE OF YOUR PASSENGERS IN UKRAINE AND WHAT INSTRUMENTS DO YOU USE TO ENCOURAGE PASSENGERS TO USE TURKISH AIRLINES?

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The majority of Turkish Airlines passengers travel for business or leisure purposes. Furthermore, we have also seamen and students. Among our main advantages, it must be noted our wide flight network and a modern new hub in Istanbul Airport, which has been launched in late 2018. Currently, Turkish Airlines is the only foreign carrier operating flights to Kyiv on wide-body aircraft B787 Dreamliner, providing passengers with the exclusive flight experience and comfort.

For our business travelers, we have a special program Turkish Airlines Corporate Club, which allows companies to reduce expenses for business travel and provides various advantages as special discounts, additional baggage allowance, and business lounge access. During the pandemic period, it is extremely important to implement comprehensive hygiene precautions. Recently Turkish Airlines has achieved the highest “Diamond” status in the health and safety review conducted by APEX and SimpliFlying due to numerous criteria such as touch-free check-in process, implementation of social distancing, temperature measuring at entrances, hygiene expert cabin crews appointed in flights and hygiene kits offered to passengers.