Turkish Airlines (Istanbul) today is celebrating two important milestones. The company issued this statement today:

Turkish Airlines has secured the number one spot according to the Official Airline Guide (OAG) in terms of the number of countries it services. The airline now flies to 90 countries around the globe, more than any other airline in the world. More than thirty new routes have been added this year alone and with 205 destinations to date, the airline continues its expansion plans into Europe, Russia, Central Asia, the Far East, the Middle East, Africa and the Americas.

In addition to this recent announcement, Turkish Airlines today reached another milestone after adding its 200th aircraft. The Boeing 737-900 – the airlines’ ninth – is the newest addition to its continuously expanding fleet.

The new 737 – adorned with a special “200th Aircraft” sticker – recently debuted at Turkish Airlines’ main hub at Atatürk Airport in Istanbul, Turkey. Turkish Airlines executives, employees, and members of the media celebrated the plane’s unveiling at a ceremony which took place at the new Turkish Technic hangar before the aircraft took flight.

“As a company, we continue to achieve our goals one at a time,” stated Hamdi Topcu, Turkish Airlines chairman, during the event. “We first celebrated the arrival of our 100^th aircraft and now we have reached our next goal of 200 aircraft in our fleet. Our next goal, as we continue to expand, is 300.”

In October, Turkish Airlines ordered 15 Airbus A330-300s. Those planes are scheduled to be delivered between 2014 and 2016.

“I am more than optimistic that we will reach our goal to become the world’s largest airline network by 2023,” furthered Temel Kotil, Ph.D., Turkish Airlines President and CEO. “We intend to become a five-star airline and the leading carrier in our region, home to 1.5 billion people.

Copyright Photo: Turkish Airlines. Boeing 737-9F2 ER TC-JYI (msn 40985) “Mugla” was accepted on November 8, 2012 and now wears this special sticker.

Turkish Airlines: