Turkish Airlines Eyes Australia Nonstop Flights

Turkish Airlines currently operates flights to more than 300 destinations around the world from its hub at Istanbul Airport than any other airline. Australia, on the other hand, is one of the few nations not served by the carrier’s extensive route network.

Turkish Airlines is considering starting nonstop flights to Australia utilising either an Airbus A350-1000XWB or a Boeing 777X.

The airline already has 777-300ERs and A350-900s in service. Turkish Airlines chairman Ahmet Bolat, speaking at the IATA annual general meeting in Doha, stated that the airline may choose a different variant, such as the A350-1000XWB, for ultra-long-range services from Istanbul to Sydney and Melbourne.

Bolat suggested that the route be flown by A340-500s or 777-200LRs. “However, our assessments suggest a significant financial loss with those aircraft, particularly given the current high fuel prices,” he said. Turkish Airlines does not fly A340-500s or 777-200LRs.

The 777X is also being considered by the airline. “Any decision we make on one of those aircraft will be the correct one at the appropriate time.” “We’ll have to wait and observe how both types develop,” Bolat added. “We are not required to be a launch customer.”

Bolat is not comparing Turkish Airlines’ nonstop flights to Australia with Qantas’ Project Sunrise, which plans to run nonstop flights from Australia to London and New York. “This is a different product with less capacity,” he explained. “We need more seats, but we’re not changing our business strategy.”

Turkish Airlines’ nonstop flight from Istanbul to Sydney and Melbourne would take about 17 hours. Services could begin as early as 2026 or 2027.

“We need to see proof of maturity from the Boeing 777X or the Airbus A350-1000,” Bolat added.

Meanwhile, before the ultra-long-distance capacity is available, the Istanbul-based carrier has code-share links to Australia. The airline is also exploring partnerships in Australia and is in discussions with countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia on fifth freedom rights.

“If we had that fifth freedom, we could share markets with the domestic carriers,” he explained. “We can’t do nonstop flights with our current fleet.” We are in discussions with our code-share partners since it is more convenient to fly to Australia with the same aircraft.”

Turkish Airlines already makes a $40 million profit in the Australian market from passengers travelling to and from its global network via Istanbul.