THY Turkish Airlines said Thursday it expects to increase landings in the summer season by 12 percent and available seat kilometers by 24 percent due to new routes and additional flights.

The Turkish flag carrier, one of Europe's fastest-growing airlines, listed a series of additional flights being introduced for the summer season beginning March 29 to destinations such as New York, Singapore, Johannesburg and Seoul.

The Istanbul-based airline will fly to 152 cities, 116 of them abroad and 36 domestic, during the summer season, it said in a statement.

In the first two months of the year, passenger numbers increased 9 percent to 3.1 million, available seat kilometers rose 11.6 percent to 7.2 billion and landings rose 8 percent to 28,606, the airline announced earlier this month.

While the industry is battling to cope with the global financial crisis and economic slowdown, Turkish Airlines has launched a large-scale expansion program, with plans to buy up to 105 wide-bodied and single-aisle aircraft from Airbus and Boeing.