Turkish Airlines is seeking regulatory approval to double its authorised capital ceiling, potentially enabling it to raise its share capital to TL10b ($276m). The company secured clearance from the country’s Capital Markets Board on 14 February and it applied on 17 February for similar authorisation from the ministry of trade. It states that its previous capital ceiling validity period expired at the end of 2024, and it is seeking a new five-year validity period which will run from 2025-29. The company’s previous ceiling was TL5b divided into 500b shares. It wants to amend this to TL10b and 1t shares, although it has not specified a particular reason. Turkish Airlines’ current issued capital is 138b shares, of which a single share is held by the treasury ministry. Foreign entities are permitted to own up to 40% of the share capital. Once the trade ministry clears the ceiling request, Turkish Airlines will put the proposal before shareholders for approval.<br/>
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Japanese Star Alliance member All Nippon Airways (ANA) has officially commenced its new nonstop service between Tokyo Haneda (HND) and Istanbul Airport (IST). ANA will operate three weekly flights – on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays – operated by three-class Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft. These aircraft feature 1-2-1 lie-flat business class seating, 2-3-2 premium economy class seats, and 3-3-3 economy class seats. ANA is now the 111th airline offering service to Istanbul Airport. “We are delighted to welcome Istanbul into our ever-growing global network. This milestone not only enhances travel opportunities for our passengers but also plays a vital role in deepening the bond between Turkiye and Japan. As a bridge connecting nations, we are dedicated to fostering stronger ties and enriching cultural exchange, ensuring that interactions between our two countries continue to flourish,” said Shinichi Inoue, president and CEO of ANA.<br/>
The Singapore Airlines Group (SIA) is starting the new calendar year on a strong note. SIA said Monday that passenger traffic across its airlines rose 8.6% in January versus a year earlier. Notably, the figure tracks well ahead of a 5.5% increase in capacity. This is good news for the company, as it means its planes are busier, despite operating more flights overall. SIA credited the Lunar New Year holiday season as a partial driver for “robust travel demand.” The multi-day celebration falls on different dates each year, based on the start of the new moon cycle. This is typically between January 21 and February 20 using the Western calendar. In 2025, the New Year was on January 29, compared to February 10 in 2024. This brought much more of the travel surge into January’s traffic figures, flattering year-on-year comparisons. The Group is best known for operating Singapore Airlines, however, it also owns a low-cost carrier called Scoot and an air cargo operation. Digging into the numbers in more detail, the passenger load factor at Singapore Airlines – a key industry metric indicating how many seats on an average aircraft are occupied – reached 87.2% in January. This was up 3 percentage points compared to January 2024. Partly driven by the timing of the Lunar New Year, the East Asia region led the charge, with an impressive 5.8 percentage point rise. However, the region with the busiest flights overall was the South West Pacific at 93.7%. This area includes key markets for Singapore Airlines including Australia and New Zealand – both of which enjoy a peak summer surge at the start of the new calendar year. <br/>
Five years after Thai Airways International filed for bankruptcy protection, the state-controlled carrier’s court-appointed debt administrator Piyasvasti Amranand is planning an aggressive international expansion. Called out of semi-retirement in 2020 by Thailand’s then Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha, he was asked to devise a rescue after the carrier posted losses every year from 2013. Thai Airways aims to emerge from its debt restructuring this year and anticipates a resumption of stock trading in the second quarter. Sounder financial footing allowed the airline in 2024 to order 45 Boeing aircraft with an option for 35 more. Flight capacity has been increased. “Thai Airways’ rapid turnaround is quite astonishing,” said Federation of Savings and Credit Cooperatives of Thailand president Weera Wongsan. It invests in the airline’s bonds and stocks. “Most lenders were prepared for a much longer and more painful recovery timeframe.” The turnaround is reflected in the airline’s earnings and global surveys that show its image and service ranking improving. Thai Airways posted net income of 15.2b baht (S$605) in the first nine months of 2024, adding to a 28b baht profit in 2023. That is a recovery from a record loss of 141b baht in 2020 when a Covid-19 pandemic grounded most of its planes. <br/>