Turkish Airlines partners up with petroleum company

Turkish Airlines (THY) and petroleum company OPET announced here Thursday that they have just formed a new partnership called THY OPET Air Fuels.

Local Dogan news agency reported that the new company was established with a 75 million U.S. dollars investment budget from THY and OPET and will provide fuel in 38 airports for THY as well as other airline companies.

THY Chairman Hamdi Topcu said "we hope this newly established company will also be active in international aviation."

He added that planes abroad will acquire fuel from local sources, and planes in Turkey will receive fuel from either THY OPET or another petroleum company Petrol Ofisi.

THY planes consume 1.2 million tons of fuel annually. OPET has the greatest fuel storage capacity in the country and also deals in international petroleum trade through its offices in London and Singapore.

Chairman of Koc Holding, which owns 50 percent of OPET, Mustafa Koc said that the signing of the deal between "THY which is on its way to be the best airline in the world and OPET, one of the petroleum sectors select businesses, was a matter of pride."

After the press conference a tanker belonging to THY OPET made its first fuel transfer to a THY plane.

Source: Xinhua