Pegasus Airlines has completed its acquisition of Smartwings Group, the largest carrier in the Czech Republic, marking a significant expansion of the Turkish low-cost carrier’s presence in the European market.
Pegasus announced the completion of the transaction on October 1, 2026, following regulatory approval in the Czech Republic. The acquisition comes after Pegasus agreed to relinquish certain slots on the Prague-Antalya route to address competition concerns, clearing the way for the deal to close.
Pegasus had announced in December 2025 that it had offered €154 million for 100% of the Czech aviation group. Smartwings also owns the historic CSA Czech Airlines brand, although CSA no longer operates under its own Air Operator Certificate (AOC).
The transaction gives Pegasus access to Smartwings’ established operations across the Czech Republic and its subsidiaries in Poland, Hungary and Slovakia. While Pegasus has not yet outlined specific plans for integrating the two businesses, Pegasus Airlines CEO Güliz Öztürk said the airlines would cooperate to expand their offering and network.
Expanding a significant narrowbody platform
Smartwings currently operates a fleet of 39 aircraft comprising four Airbus A220s, one A320, 14 Boeing 737 MAX 8s, 18 Boeing 737-800s and two Boeing 737-900ERs. Two additional aircraft—an A320 and a Boeing 737-800 were listed as inactive as of October 2, 2026.
The acquisition therefore adds a sizeable mixed Airbus–Boeing narrowbody fleet to Pegasus’ existing operation. Pegasus itself operates 133 narrowbody aircraft comprising Airbus A320-family and Boeing 737 aircraft, with a further 137 aircraft on order.
The combined scale provides Pegasus with a broader operational footprint across European markets while adding Smartwings’ established Czech and Central European presence to its network centred on Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen Airport.
For the MRO sector, the transaction also brings together two sizeable narrowbody fleets operating across multiple European markets. The future integration of fleet planning, maintenance support, technical operations and other common functions could become an important element of the cooperation between the two groups, although Pegasus has not yet disclosed specific integration plans.
With Pegasus continuing to expand its own fleet and now adding Smartwings’ operations and aircraft, the acquisition marks another step in the carrier’s broader European growth strategy.
