Turkish Airlines (THY) was Europe's fastest growing international airline last year based on passenger numbers, according to a written statement from the Association of European Airlines. THY carried 24.7 percent more passengers during the first 11 months of the year compared to the same period in 2005, carrying a total number of 1.31 million passengers. According to the data, as of November 2006 the airline has increased its air traffic by 25.5 percent year-on-year and its capacity by 24.6 percent. During that period THY reached an occupancy rate of 67.9 percent. Swiss International Airlines, operated by German Lufthansa, was second following THY, having increased its passenger numbers by 22.2 percent. Romania's Tarom came third, with a 20.6 percent increase. The average growth of European national airline companies for the period was 4.5 percent in passengers, 5.3 in air traffic and 5.1 in capacity. Meanwhile, according to the Association of European Airlines, during the first 11 months of 2006, German Lufthansa carried 4.14 million passengers, remaining Europe's largest national airline company. Air France ranked second in the same list with 3.86 million passengers, followed by British Airways with its 2.74 million passengers. Scandinavian SAS was fourth with 2.16 million passengers, Iberia airlines fifth with 2.11 million, Alitalia sixth with 1.81 million, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines seventh with 1.75 million passengers and THY eighth.