Invest News DetailHürriyet - Türkiye’s flag carrier, Turkish Airlines (THY) scored its second “Best Airline in Europe” award in a row from the largest airline and airport ranking authority, Skytrax. The carrier received the coveted “Best Airline in Europe” designation in this year’s Skytrax World Airline Awards. Additionally, it won in the "Best Airline in Southern Europe" and the "Best Premium Economy Class Airline Seat" categories. Surveying over 18 million airline passengers from over 100 countries, Skytrax awarded THY as the “Best Airline of Europe” for the first time in 2011. The company flies to over 200 domestic and international destinations, with Istanbul being its major hub. “THY left behind Lufthansa and Swiss as direct competitors to become Europe’s best airline once again,” said the General Manager of THY at the award ceremony held at the Farnborough International Airshow in Britain. “We now aim to be the world’s best,” he added. THY has grown 20 percent in passenger numbers during the first half of 2012, while the industry averaged around 4 percent, according to Kotil. “International fliers passing through Istanbul for connecting flights increased by 47 percent. This growth rate shows that Istanbul is right at the center of world’s airline industry,” the General Manager added. Türkiye plans to build a massive third airport in Istanbul, with a capacity of 150 million passengers, to ease ever increasing air traffic.