History
On 1 December 1989 two businesses, Net and Silkar, partnered with Aer Lingus to create an inclusive tour charter airline called Pegasus Airlines and services were inaugurated on 15 April 1990 with two Boeing 737-400s. However, four months after the launch, Iraq invaded Kuwait and the seven month occupation that followed had a serious effect on Turkish tourism.
By 1992, tourists began returning to the country and Pegasus grew with the acquisition of a third 737-400. The airline leased a further two Airbus A320s to meet the summer demand.
After two positive years, Aer Lingus and Net sold their shares in the company in 1994 to Istanbul based Yapi Kreditbank, making Pegasus a purely Turkish company.
On 4 September 1997, Pegasus placed an order for one 737-400 and one 737-800 from Boeing Commercial Airplanes making it the first Turkish carrier to place an order for the Boeing 737 Next Generation. The airline also signed lease agreements for a further 10 737-800s from the ILFC.
In January 2005, ESAS Holdings purchased Pegasus Airlines and placed Ali Sabanci as the chairman. Two months later, he changed the airline from a Charter airline, to a Low-Cost airline. In November 2005, Pegasus placed an order for 12 new 737-800s from Boeing which was backed up with an order for a further 12 737-800s in November 2008. The latter order has flexibility in it as the orders can be changed to the 149-seat 737-700 or the 215-seat 737-900 depending on market demand.
In 2007, Pegasus carried more passengers in Turkey than any other private airline. In 2008, it carried a total of 4.4 million passengers.
In Greek mythology, Pegasus (Greek: Πήγασος, Pégasos, 'strong') was a winged horse sired by Poseidon, in his role as horse-god, and foaled by the Gorgon Medusa.
Read more about this topic: Pegasus Airlines
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