Pegasus agrees to buy Smartwings for 154 million euros

The Turkish low-cost airline Pegasus announced today that it has signed an agreement to acquire the Czech Republic’s largest airline Smartwings, together with its holding company Czech Airlines, the Associated Press reported.

According to the statement, the holding and subsidiary companies will be acquired by Prague City Air for 154 million euros. The ownership transfer process is expected to be completed within 12 months, said Smartwings spokeswoman Vladimíra Dufková, CE Report quotes BTA.

At present, Smartwings operates scheduled, charter, and private flights to around 80 destinations with a fleet of nearly 50 aircraft. The airline had been in talks to be acquired by Poland’s national carrier LOT, but that deal collapsed over the weekend after Pegasus submitted a competing bid.

Pegasus is a Turkish low-cost airline founded in 1990, operating flights to 153 airports in 54 countries.

The former Czech national carrier Czech Airlines stopped operating its own flights in 2024 and transferred them to its subsidiary Smartwings.