| Kobe Bryant, one of the legendary names of the U.S. professional basketball league, became the "new global brand promotion envoy" of the Turkish Airlines. Bryant will promote THY all around the world, particularly the United States, for two years.
"THY will add 23 new aircraft to its fleet till the end of 2011, and start flying to new destinations particulary in the United States and Far East" Hamdi Topcu, the chairman of the THY Executive Board, said.
THY promotion film in which Kobe Bryant will take part will be aired in international TV channels and movie theaters in more than 80 countries in 2011. Also, THY advertisements will be hung, published or posted on billboards, magazines and digital environment.
An American professional basketball player who plays shooting guard for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA), Kobe Bryant experienced five-time NBA championship. Bryant was the all-time NBA leading scorer for two times, and won an olympic gold medal.
THY posted 255.6 million Turkish lira-TL (169.7 million USD) net profit in the first nine months of 2010. Total assets of the company rose to 8.9 billion TL (5.9 billion USD), while its equities increased to 3.6 billion TL (2.3 billion USD) in the first nine months of this year, stated THY on Friday.
Based in Istanbul, Turkish Airlines is one of the fastest growing and prosperous airlines in the world. It carries approximately 25 million passengers a year, with direct flights to 126 international and 37 domestic destinations.
The company was founded in 1933 with a fleet of five airplanes that carried a total of 28 passengers. THY made its first domestic flight in 1933 and the first international flight in 1947.
THY posted 389 million Euro of profit in 2009, becoming one of the top companies, following Air China and Ryan Air, in the world that recorded the highest profit in 2009. |
