2002 Annual Report - Turkish Airlines

04 • 2002 TURKISH AIRLINES annual reportmessage from the chairmanThe year 2001 was a year of crisesboth in Turkey and throughout theworld with the civil aviation sectorparticularly hard hit. Turkish Airlineswas one of the few airlines to endthe year with a profit as the resultof effective cost-cutting measuresput into place upon timelyassessments, well-planned capacityutilization, a flexible fleet and theability to make fast and prudentdecisions.Through rational strategiesimplemented continually andconsistently as well as the teamspirit that has permeated theCompany from the onset, TurkishAirlines maintained its profitabilityagain in 2002, closing the year witha record before-tax profit ofTL 137.3 trillion and an after-taxprofit of TL 104.9 trillion based onthe Turkish Capital Market Boardstandards.One of the most pleasing aspects ofthis financial achievement during2002 is the fact that the operationallosses of the previous years havebeen turned into a recordoperational profit totaling TL 157.6trillion.Passenger Load Factor is the bestindicator of effective capacityutilization in an airline. As a result ofcapacity reduction measuresimplemented in 2001, TurkishAirlines reached its best PassengerLoad Factor rates to date. In 2002,Passenger Load Factor was 70.8%for domestic routes, 68.6% ininternational routes and 68.9% intotal.Although there wasn’t any cargoaircraft in its fleet, Turkish Airlinesrealized a record cargo haul capacityof 119,000 tons and generated arevenue of TL 225.5 trillion. Cargo