When does Turkish Airlines plan to start flights to Australia?”
Turkish Airlines plans to start flying into Australia from 2011, its chief executive announced Tuesday at a press conference in Sydney. After giving a presentation at the Australia Pacific Aviation Outlook Summit 2009 yesterday, CEO Temel Kotil told reporters that Australia was a destination it planned to serve two years from now. With the carrier’s expansion to Jakarta scheduled to start at the end of this month, Kotil said a Boeing 777-300 aircraft would serve the Australian route from Istanbul via Jakarta. Kotil was confident that the carrier would be able to compete in the Australian market as it “covers Europe better” than any other airline. He expects the flights will bring in many tourists from Turkey and be able to serve Australians desiring to visit Turkey for ANZAC services. The carrier plans to continue expanding its network and frequency, with the Philippines and Vietnam next on its destination wish list. Kotil added that the carrier hopes to double its frequency in the nex
Turkish Airlines in plan to fly to Australia Turkish Airlines is drawing up plans to begin services to Australia in two years’ time. The carrier has revealed it will operate its Australia flights via Jakarta, where it will start direct flights from Istanbul on September 4 this year. Chief executive Dr. Temel Kotil revealed Australia is on the drawing board for 2011 by which time it will have substantially grown its long-haul fleet. The carrier has 19 long-haul aircraft on order, comprising seven Airbus A330-300s and 12 Boeing 777-300s. Kotil decline to expand on its Australia plans, with no details on which port it will fly into. Kotil said Australia’s Turkish population and tourism links – fuelled by ANZAC tours – make Australia a market with strong potential. Turkish Airlines claimed it is the only airline in Europe growing passenger numbers and traffic volume this year and is now Europe’s fourth largest airline in terms of passenger numbers.
