Turkish Airlines turnover reached $9 billion in 2012, setting the carrier up for an upgrade to five-star airline status this year, the company’s chief executive has said.

“THY was named as the best airline in Europe twice, and it carried the second highest number of passengers in 2012. And this year it will become a five-star airline,” Temel Kotil, the chief executive, said at a recent management summit in Antalya at which the works and targets of the company were announced. Kotil said the company was continuing an annual growth trend that reached $9 billion in turnover in the past year, while aiming to reach $10 billion in 2013, Hurriyet Daily News report.