Smartwings names Pegasus executives as CEO and CFO after EUR 154 million takeover

The appointments took effect on 1 October, the same day Pegasus completed the takeover after receiving all required regulatory approvals and meeting customary closing conditions. Smartwings spokeswoman Vladimíra Dufková confirmed the completion.

Pegasus executives take the top jobs

Pekesen had been Pegasus group director of sales and network planning and has worked at Pegasus since 2010. Karabacak joined Pegasus in 2018 and most recently served as group head of budget, reporting and cost control. They replaced Jiri Juran, who was chief executive and chairman of the board, and Michal Stasek, who was chief financial officer.

Deal terms and the Czech brands

Pegasus agreed in December 2025 to buy Czech Airlines and its subsidiary Smartwings from Prague City Air for EUR 154 million, including related receivables and the companies covered by the deal. The purchase ran through Pegasus Europe BV, a wholly owned subsidiary.

A Globe and Mail report on the completion put the total at EUR 142.3 million including assigned receivables and said the acquisition represented 1.7 percent of Pegasus's total assets and 4.2 percent of its latest annual sales.

Smartwings will keep operating under its existing brand, with day-to-day operations, customer relationships and service delivery unchanged, the company said. The Czech Airlines name stays in the group. Czech Airlines had already been turned into a holding company, with Smartwings taking over its flight operations in 2024, so the purchase gives Pegasus control of the Smartwings operation and the Czech Airlines corporate and brand assets. Pegasus and Smartwings are expected to run as distinct brands rather than merging their passenger-facing identities straight away.

Regulator approved deal after slot remedy

The Czech Office for the Protection of Competition approved the deal after Pegasus offered a remedy involving the transfer of part of its summer-season slots on the Prague to Antalya route to another airline. The office had reviewed the case since May 2026 and identified the route as the main competition concern because the combined group would have held a very high market share. The remedy is meant to let another carrier obtain suitable slots at both airports and run competing scheduled service between the two cities. Türkiye's competition authority approved the transaction in late July 2026.

Fleet and network scale

Pegasus and Smartwings said the combined fleet is more than 175 aircraft, with firm orders covering another 140. Pegasus serves 161 destinations in 57 countries, including 39 domestic points in Türkiye and 122 international. Smartwings serves 80 destinations in 20 countries and calls itself the largest Czech airline. CAPA put the pair ninth and 29th among European airline groups by seats and said Pegasus had about four times Smartwings' aircraft and nearly eight times its annual seat capacity.

Güliz Öztürk, Pegasus chief executive, said: "Together we can grow further and offer our guests more choice than any of us could alone".