Unveiling its full year results, the carrier said its 34.1% margin outstripped Ryanair’s by around a third and beat its previous record set in 2019, when it achieved a 33.3% gross margin.

Pegasus posted a pre-tax profit of €403 million for the calendar year, a turnaround from 2021’s loss of €158 million. Revenue jumped from €1 billion in 2021 to €2.45 billion.

Pegasus has benefited from its low operating cost base plus the popularity of Turkey last year due to the weakness of its currency.

The family-owned airline said sales had exceeded industry expectations, with strong momentum in the summer continuing into the fourth quarter “contrary to the initial concerns in the market”.

The carrier has a hub at Istanbul’s Sabiha Gokcen secondary airport, offering connections to 47 countries and flies to Stansted and Manchester. 

Pegasus operates 96 short-haul aircraft and is due to have a fleet of 102 by the end of this year. It operates to 126 destinations and has a strong domestic network in Turkey.

Its bottom line was helped by sales of ancillaries like hold baggage, which averaged €23.3 per passenger last year, compared to €15.6 in 2021. Pegasus had €372 million in cash at the end of 2022, compared to €66 million in 2021.

Pegasus said forward bookings were “building up at a slow pace” but initial indications for peak summer demand “is encouraging”. It added capacity this year would be around 20% higher than last.