London : As part of its fleet modernization and sustainability strategies, Turkish low-cost carrier Pegasus Airlines has made a game-changing move by placing an order for 36 new A321neo aircraft from Airbus.

This latest procurement brings the airline’s total Airbus orders to 150, reinforcing its ongoing efforts towards environmental conservation, cost savings, and operational efficiency.

In a statement on the agreement, Güliz Öztürk, CEO of Pegasus Airlines, said: “We embarked on our journey with the belief that everyone has the right to fly and today, we remain equally dedicated to operational efficiency, financial performance, and sustainability for our industry and the world.

With these goals in mind, we continue to work diligently and determinedly towards our strategy of fleet modernisation, focusing on fuel and unit cost savings, and emission reductions. Through our recent agreement with Airbus, by adding 36 new 239-seater A321neo aircraft, which are the most efficient aircraft type in their class, we will both expand and modernise our fleet.”

Noting that Pegasus have the youngest fleet in Türkiye and one of the youngest fleets among low-cost carriers globally with an average age of 4.5 years, Güliz Öztürk said: “This efficiency makes a significant contribution to reducing fuel consumption and emissions. In addition, we are actively pursuing many more initiatives on the road to net zero.

In addition to our fleet transformation with new generation aircraft, we are moving towards this goal through our operational efficiency efforts, increasing our use of sustainable aviation fuel and our focus on alternative energy sources.

In 2023 and beyond, our main goal will be to maintain and advance our leading position in the industry with our innovative, rational, principled, and responsible approach.”

The A321neo, the latest addition to the Airbus medium range single-aisle family, is the largest of the group.

Due to its 239-seat configuration, it offers significant advantages in terms of capacity utilisation, while also providing significant benefits in terms of fuel consumption due to the technical specifications of the new generation LEAP-1A engines.

Airbus states that the new-generation Neo aircraft is 15-20pc more efficient in terms of fuel consumption and carbon emissions than its predecessors. The operational performance of the A320/321neo series aircraft validates this efficiency.

-B