On Thursday, October 1, 2026, the Turkish carrier Pegasus Airlines announced the successful completion of its acquisition of the Smartwings Group, which encompasses Smartwings and its foreign airline subsidiaries. This milestone came nearly ten months after Pegasus Airlines publicly announced its intention to purchase Smartwings—an announcement made on December 8, 2025, at a time when Poland’s LOT had been widely expected to acquire the company right up to the last moment.
Both carriers subsequently had to overcome a number of obstacles. Describing the event simply as "Pegasus buying Smartwings" is a journalistic shorthand; in December, Pegasus Airlines did not actually purchase Smartwings but rather signed a takeover agreement. The deal was subject to approval by antitrust authorities "and other third parties, as well as the fulfillment of additional conditions precedent over the following 12 months." Pegasus Airlines anticipated the merger would take place in 2026. The agreed price was 154 million euros (approximately 3.8 billion CZK) for both companies, including outstanding receivables.
The contract was signed by the seller, Prague City Air s.r.o., and Unimex Group a.s., which is assigning its receivables. The agreement covers the entire share capital—including the Smartwings Group's equity—as well as assumed shareholder debt. To execute the acquisition, Pegasus established a company named Pegasus Europe B.V. in the Netherlands. According to the Turkish carrier's financial statements, the entity is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pegasus Airlines.
The Czech antitrust authority issued its decision on the matter on September 13, 2026. ÚOHS authorized Pegasus Airlines to acquire Czech Airlines and its subsidiary, Smartwings. This approval is subject to commitments designed to preserve competition, particularly on the route between Prague and Antalya. The Turkish antitrust authority had already granted its approval on July 23.
The merger involves two carriers with differing fleet compositions: Smartwings operates a fleet consisting primarily of Boeings alongside a small number of Airbus aircraft, whereas Pegasus Airlines operates a fleet made up almost exclusively of Airbus aircraft.
To be specific, Smartwings operates a fleet of 44 aircraft. In addition to four A220-300s, the fleet includes the last remaining A320, two Boeing 737-900ERs, fourteen Boeing 737 MAX 8s, and twenty-three Boeing 737-800s. Five Boeing 737-800s (OK-TVL, OK-TVT, OK-TVV, OK-TVW, and OK-TSU) are currently leased to Eurowings. Plans are also in place to downsize the Boeing 737 Next Generation fleet in the near future.
The Pegasus Airlines fleet consists of nine remaining Boeing 737-800s, 72 Airbus A321neos, 45 Airbus A320neos, and six Airbus A320ceos.
The coming weeks will reveal the direction in which the new Turkish owner intends to steer Smartwings. Pegasus Airlines’ business activities include scheduled flights, whereas Smartwings was primarily a charter carrier with a limited network of scheduled routes.
Prepared By: Martin Bernict
Photo: planes.cz
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