Yildiray Karaer, co-founder of the Corendon Tourism Group and CEO of Corendon Airlines, was born on January 1, 1962, in Izmir, Turkey. He graduated from Istanbul Technical University with a degree in Mining Engineering and later earned a Master’s in Business Administration and Production Management from Istanbul University.

Karaer began his professional career in the marketing department of Eczacıbaşı, one of Turkey’s largest corporations, within its mining group. After a brief hiatus to study English in the United Kingdom, he returned to Turkey and worked for Mobil and Goodyear.

His entry into the aviation sector started with his role as head of the Frankfurt office of Onur Air. Karaer then moved to Amsterdam to lead Onur Air’s operations in the Netherlands.

Following his tenure at Onur Air, Karaer joined GTI Airlines. He then decided to leverage his experience in tourism, gained in the Netherlands and Germany, to start his own business. In 1997, together with his current business partner, Atilay Uslu, he founded Corendon Travel, laying the foundation for the Corendon brand.

This business model—selling package holidays from the Netherlands and Belgium to Turkey—gained momentum with the establishment of Corendon Airlines in 2005, operating under the Turkish flag. Today, the international tourism group consists of the following divisions:

• Corendon Travel: Operating in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Denmark.

• Corendon Touristic: An incoming tour operator.

• Corendon Hotels and Resorts: A hotel chain comprising eight properties.

• Corendon Airlines: Encompasses three different airlines with a total fleet of 34 aircraft