Turkish national flag carrier adds two new aircraft to fleet

ISTANBUL (A.A) - December 12, 2011 - Turkey's national airline company added on Monday two new aircraft to its fleet. Two B737-900ER passenger aircraft joined Turkish Airlines (THY) fleet, raising the number of THY aircraft to 179. "These planes will fly to many destinations in Africa and Asia where we have not reached yet as they are capable of flying to distant destinations," THY's Executive Board President Hamdi Topcu told reporters in Istanbul. Topcu said the two planes were designed in a way to carry only 150 passengers instead of 200 to make passengers feel themselves comfortable in long journeys.  The aircraft would be used in flights to Lagos, Dar es Salaam and some destinations in India, Topcu also said. Turkish Airlines is the national flag carrier airline of Turkey, headquartered in Istanbul. It operates scheduled services to 146 international and 41 domestic cities (38 domestic airports), serving a total of 187 airports, in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas.  It carried 30 million passengers in the first 11 months of 2011.