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| Founded | 1974 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commenced operations | 1975 | |||
| Ceased operations | 21 June 2010 | |||
| Hubs | Ercan International Airport | |||
| Fleet size | 7 | |||
| Destinations | 18 | |||
| Headquarters | Nicosia, Cyprus | |||
| Key people | Bilal EKŞİ | |||
| Website | www.kthy.net | |||
Cyprus Turkish Airlines Limited (Turkish: Kıbrıs Türk Hava Yolları Ltd. Şti. (KTHY)) was a Turkish Cypriot airline that was the flag carrier for the Turkish-occupied northern part of Cyprus, and was based in the Turkish sector of Nicosia.[1] Cyprus Turkish Airlines was also the main airline that flew passengers to the Turkish-occupied part of Cyprus until its collapse in June 2010.
Scheduled flights were operated from Turkey-only recognised Ercan Airport, Northern Cyprus to several cities in Turkey, the United Kingdom and Western / Northern Europe.
KTHY had its main base at Ercan (Tymbou) Airport situated near Nicosia.[2]
The airline was de jure registered as a Turkish company in Istanbul.[3] Day-to-day operations were run from Ercan. All services to Europe had to make a stop at a city in mainland Turkey.
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Cyprus Turkish Airlines was established on 4 December 1974 in Nicosia with shares equally divided between THY and the Cash Development of the Consolidated Fund of the Assembly of the Turkish Cypriot Community (Konsolide Fonu Inkisaf Sandigi). The first scheduled flight was operated on the 3 February 1975.
In 2005 the Turkish government sold its shareholding to Ada Havayollari.[4]
To avoid bankruptcy due to a $100 million debt, the management had decided to sell the company in June 2010. After the end of the bidding period, the Turkish carrier Atlasjet was the only bidder. [5]
On 21 June 2010, the airline announced via their website that they had ceased all operations until further notice and eight days later, on 29 June 2010 it was announced that the airline had gone out of business.
| Year | Events |
|---|---|
| 1975 | The first scheduled flight was operated on 3 February 1975 |
| 1976 | Aircraft of types included DC-9, Boeing 727-200 and Boeing 707(720) first on a lease basis |
| 1977 | KTHY is registered as a Turkish company in Istanbul, Turkey [6] |
| 1981 | Launch of scheduled flights to London (UK) |
| 1990 | 2 Boeing 727-200 purchased |
| 1991 | Ground operations staff and cockpit / cabin crew employed |
| 1993 | Third Boeing 727-200 purchased |
| 1995 | First Airbus A310-200 purchased |
| 1996 | Fourth Boeing 727-200 purchased |
| 1999 | Second Airbus A310-200 purchased |
| 2000 | 2 Boeing 737-800's were long term leased |
| 2001 | Third Boeing 737-800 is long termed leased |
| 2002 | All 4 Boeing 727-200's, upon completion of technical flight hours, grounded and sold |
| 2004 | 3 Airbus A321-200's were long terms leased.[7] |
| 2004 | Caretta in-flight magazine re-introduced |
| 2006 | ISO 9001-2000 Quality Control System certificate obtained in April |
| 2006 | DCS system introduced and used for the first time at Ercan International Airport |
| 2006 | Ground services in airports of Turkey passed on to "HAVAŞ" in December |
| 2007 | "Cyprus Airport Services" were formed after KTHY's partnership with "HAVAŞ" |
| 2007 | Scheduled flights to Birmingham (UK) commenced on 21 May |
| 2008 | Fourth Boeing 737-800 purchased, to be delivered in February 2009 |
| 2008 | First the time in the history of KTHY, employment of male cabin staff |
| 2008 | Protocol signed with DETUR for flights to Sweden, Norway and Finland |
| 2009 | First flight to Scandinavia scheduled for 7 February 2009 to Helsinki |
| 2009 | Charter flights planned to operate to Italy, Romania, Slovenia and Hungary |
| 2009 | Delivery of a Airbus A320-200 |
| 2009 | Fourth Boeing 737-800 is delivered |
| 2010 | Operations are ceased on 21 June |
| 2010 | Declared Bankruptcy on 19th September |
The Cyprus Turkish Airlines fleet consisted of the following aircraft (at 13 March 2010):[8]
| Aircraft | Total | Passengers | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A320-232 | 1 | 180 | Operated by Turkuaz Airlines |
| Airbus A321-211 | 2 | 209 | 1 operated by AtlasJet |
| Boeing 737-800 | 4 | 177 | |
| Total | 7 |
| List of the registrations and names | |
|---|---|
| Airbus A321-211 |
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| Boeing 737-800 | |
The Cyprus Observer revealed that KTHY (Cyprus Turkish Airlines) planned to extend their fleet to 12 aircraft which would have been in service by 2012 and all would have worn the airlines updated livery.
The Cyprus Turkish Airlines average fleet age was 6.5 years (at 14 March 2010).[9]
KTHY Only offered 2 classes:
This class was offered on all of the new aircraft. Full meal or snack service was provided in Economy Class free of charge. However in-flight entertainment programmes were not offered.
This class had been newly introduced by KTHY (Cyprus Turkish Airlines) after years of cancelling their Business and First class services caused by the grounding of Airbus A310 and Boeing 727 aircraft. This class service would go active once the 2 new aircraft had been delivered to KTHY. On 1 June, KTHY got their new aircraft and still in waiting for the second from Airbus. However having KTHY have an Airbus for sale will mean they are one Airbus down. According to KTHY, "Economy Plus" will offer improved seating and in-flight entertainment would be available.
Since the formation of KTHY (Cyprus Turkish Airlines), all flight attendants had been female. It was announced on the website by KTHY that, from the beginning of July 2008 at the start of the summer schedule season, male flight attendants would join as cabin crew members.
The airline introduced an Express Check-in in early 2008 at the KTHY base airport of Ercan (Northern Cyprus). Passengers with only hand baggage could make use of this service. There were separate express check-in counters for passengers with only hand baggage and those without any baggage.
The airline had a "Special Passenger Programme for Frequent Flyers..." for those who flew with KTHY frequently. The benefits of this programme were a priority seat reservations, no waiting at check-in, extra baggage allowance and the ability to gain points towards free travel.[11]
The in-flight magazine was produced once a month for KTHY, and was normally placed in the seat pocket. Caretta normally gave information about the culture of Northern Cyprus and the places you could visit. Also featured was information about upcoming events in Northern Cyprus etc. The magazine was available on their website.
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