ANKARA

 Turkish Airlines, the country's national flag-carrier, has announced it increased its total number of passengers by 6.5 percent in the first quarter of 2015 compared to January-March last year.

The total number of passengers in the first quarter of 2015 was 12.8 million compared to 12 million on January-March last year, according to a statement from the company on Tuesday.

The total number of passengers increased by 5.9 percent on domestic flights and 7 percent on international flights.

Meanwhile, the seat occupancy rate dropped by 1.5 percent to 76.6 percent, compared to the same period last year.

Revenue Passenger Kilometers increased by 7.3 percent and became 25.3 billion compared to 23.6 billion for the same period in 2015.

Turkish Airlines also added 19 new destinations from last year - giving it a total of 265 destinations worldwide, 43 of them domestic. 

The number of planes increased by 27 to 268 in the first quarter of 2015.

The company continues to aim to become one of the world’s leading five-star airlines by increasing its service quality and maintaining a healthy financial structure focused on profitable growth.

Customers voted Turkish Airlines Europe’s Best Airline each year from 2011 to 2014.