Ajet, a Türkiye-based airline, currently operating flights to 93 destinations across 32 countries, has been making headlines due to ongoing delays and cancellations since its inception. CEO Kerem Sert has announced the company’s target to bring flight delays to under one hour.
"We are doing our best to avoid delays exceeding one hour."
Kerem Sert, CEO of Ajet, which was established in just six months, stated that the airline has faced unfair criticism over delays and cancellations. He emphasized that while they welcome feedback, it is important to recognize the significant efforts put into building the airline. Sert highlighted their commitment to reducing delays to under one hour:
"We will make every effort to ensure that delays do not exceed one hour. We are determined to change Ajet’s reputation for delays. Normally, we keep three backup planes at the airport. To combat this perception, we now have five backup planes in Ankara and seven in Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen. While maintaining 12 planes on standby is costly, our focus is not on costs but on ensuring passenger satisfaction despite circumstances beyond our control. We cannot use operational issues as an excuse. The actions we have taken in the past two weeks are already showing results in both Ankara and Sabiha Gökçen."
Half a million passengers during holiday season
Sert also mentioned that Ajet carried 500,000 passengers during the recent holiday period and addressed various questions about new routes, aircraft acquisitions, and staffing. Here are the key points from Sert’s statements:
-Ajet was established in a short span of six months, and its operations were smoothly launched, including the transfer of 700,000 individual PNRs from Turkish Airlines to Ajet.
-The airline was created with a low-cost model and is continually improving services in areas where they fall short.
-Despite significant costs, the priority remains customer satisfaction. In Ankara, operational issues have largely been resolved. However, changing slots or flight times in Sabiha Gökçen is more challenging, but efforts are underway with DHMI officials to address this.
-There will still be delays due to unavoidable reasons, but the aim is to minimize them.
A unique airline model
Sert pointed out that there are no other airlines worldwide that have been established with 70-80 aircraft. Ajet did not seek external consultancy and instead utilized Turkish Airlines’ expertise. The airline worked exclusively with local companies for everything from uniforms to software, acquiring their software from Hitit. Success in this venture could serve as a significant reference for exporting their services globally.
Expansion plans
Ajet has begun flights to Skopje and plans to launch new routes to Cairo and other destinations. The airline aims to open international routes from Ankara, intending to connect Ankara to all European capitals. While other airlines operate with a 70% international and 30% domestic route ratio, Ajet currently operates with the opposite ratio but plans to increase its international routes. Over the next decade, Ajet targets an average annual growth of 10-15% for international flights and 6% for domestic flights.
The goal is to reach 150 aircraft in five years and 200 aircraft in ten years, with plans to serve 113 cities in 44 countries by then.
"Ajet is not for sale"
Sert firmly stated that Ajet is a 100% subsidiary of Turkish Airlines and will remain so. Despite daily rumors about the airline being sold, he humorously dismissed these speculations.
Ajet currently employs 2,250 staff, including 1,600 cabin crew. They have received nearly 1,000 applications for cockpit positions, and Sert mentioned they could hire all successful candidates. The airline does not face a shortage of aircraft but needs more pilots, and all who pass the exams will be hired.