Turkish Airlines Celebrates a Major Milestone
08/04/2017
Turkish Delight
Management at Turkish Airlines is feeling very proud this week, and justifiably so, as they celebrate their 300th route and 120th country. They now fly to more countries than any other global carrier. Turkish are one of some big new players on the world scene; they are not exactly low-cost carriers but their prices are competitive, and they have a reputation for good in-flight service and high-quality customer care. In 2015 Turkish Airlines carried 61.2 million passengers and its planes were running at 78% full.
Which Lucky Destination was the 300th?
The lucky destination was the glamorous Thai resort of Phuket, which will be served from Turkish Airlines Istanbul head quarters. The service will run four times a week. Phuket is one of Thailands premier locations with miles of sandy beaches on a truly remarkable island. It attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists, mainly from Europe and Australia. This makes traveling to Phuket from the U.S.A via Istanbul a viable option.
The range of flights is enormous
Turkish Airlines already operates a mind boggling range of flights including ten destinations in Russia (a total of sixty-two flights per week).The latest was an Istanbul-Samara service (Samara is the twelfth busiest airport with 2.1 million passengers, on the most recent available figures). Other Russian services include Rostov on Don, Ekaterinburg and Moscow Vnokovo. There is also a flight to Kharkiv in the Ukraine. Economic ties between Russia and Turkey are strengthening, and tourism is also a key growth sector, especially after recent events in the Middle East.
120th Country was in Africa
Conakry, in Guinea, was Turkish Airlines 120th country, with a flight to Istanbul, making it the 51st country in Africa served by Turkish.It will fly twice weekly on Mondays and Thursdays.
The Road to Zanzibar
Turkish Airlines African destinations are impressive, including exotic paradise Zanzibar which is serviced by an existing connection to Kilimanjaro (a Boeing 737-900 will fly the route). Other flights include Nairobi, Dar es Salaam, Mogadishu and Addis Ababa.One intriguing new route has been Mahe in the Seychelles; other airlines are interested too, contributing to a 27% increase in seat capacity to the Indian Ocean Nirvana. Istanbul is becoming an essential hub to get to all parts of Africa.
The America's
In the Latin American sphere, Turkish inaugurated two new services at the end of last year from Istanbul to Havana (Cuba), and Caracas (Venezuela) respectively. These new services build upon existing services to Buenos Aires (Argentina), Sao Paulo (Brazil), Bogota (Columbia), and Panama. The flights are three times a week and will be flown by Airbus A330-200. No other airline operates these routes.
These are the sixteenth and seventeenth destinations in the America's, when you add in the U.S.A. and Canadian destinations; which include Boston, Miami, New York, Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Toronto, and Montreal.
Background
Turkish Airlines was founded in 1933 with just five airplanes; it now has a fleet of 334 aircraft. In January 2017, the actor Morgan Freeman was appointed the face of Turkish Airlines in the U.S.A..In February 2017 he appeared in a commercial for Turkish Airlines during the Super Bowl. Anyone who knows anything about the Super Bowl will realize that that is a seriously expensive piece of advertising.
Great Value Fares are now available on payless flights for U.S.A.-Istanbul airfares and connections beyond, including to Sofia, Bulgaria, Asia, and Australasia. From Istanbul there is a flight to Varna on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast. You can also get a flight to Varna or Burgas via Sofia.