Summary
- Some additions, like Glasgow, Lima, and Windhoek, haven’t been previously stated within the carrier’s documents or the public disclosure a part of its website.
- There is no such thing as a indication once they’ll be added.
- On condition that Qatar Airways is ending Windhoek and Air France has expressed interest, the Namibian capital might be an intriguing addition.
Turkish Airlines has disclosed 29 targeted destinations based on its highly informative September 2023 Roadshow document. Not all have been mentioned before, while some stated last 12 months have been removed. Subject to aircraft availability, traffic rights, and business realities, there is no such thing as a indication of when they may materialize.
Seven destinations join its wishlist
The underside right section of the slide below summarizes the carrier’s route network intentions. It’s curious why Osaka is included, given it’s because of resume in December, but regardless of. Glasgow was not stated in its document last 12 months, while Newcastle was.
It has also added the Turkish cities of Bayburt and Yozgat to its wishlist, with the airports not yet open. These could potentially be served by lower-cost AnadoluJet from Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen, on the Asian side of the large city, or Turkish Airlines itself from Europe’s busiest airport.
Image: Turkish Airlines
Katowice, Lima (interesting!), Lomé, and Windhoek are actually included. Turkish Airlines had announced Katowice in December 2022, and a five-weekly service was to have began in March. But as an alternative, it switched to the more tourist-driven Kraków.
Its fight to launch Australian flights continues. In June, the carrier’s chairperson said Melbourne would launch by December before quickly backtracking. Its application to serve the country, whether Melbourne or Sydney or each, was submitted in September, with service expected to start next 12 months.
Photo: Unaccompanied Media/Shutterstock
Six destinations were cut from the list
I can be cautious about reading an excessive amount of into this as destinations will be added and removed and added again later, as Katowice shows. It’s only a snapshot. Nonetheless, comparing Turkish Airlines’ network intention last 12 months shows that these have been removed:
- A Coruña (near Santiago de Compostela, which it served between May 2013 and June 2016)
- Lankaran (Azerbaijan’s fourth most populous city)
- Makhachkala (Russia)
- Aktobe (Kazakhstan)
- Penang (Malaysia; flydubai just added it from, well, guess)
- Sialkot (Pakistan)
Photo: Adomas Daunoravicius/Shutterstock
What about Africa?
Turkish Airlines hopes so as to add Aswan, Brazzaville, Hargeisa, Lomé, Monrovia, Port Sudan, and Windhoek to its ever-growing African network. Based on the investor document, Africa accounted for 9% of the carrier’s revenue within the 12 months’s first six months.
One-stop routings are sometimes crucial within the sub-Sahara, many with fifth freedom traffic rights. While narrowbodies are sometimes used, widebodies are vital for passenger and freight demand and – as is typically forgotten – for particular markets to enable extra baggage to be transported.
Photo: Soos Jozsef/Shutterstock
The Namibian capital of Windhoek is interesting. Positioned 4,445 miles (7,154 km) from Istanbul because the crow flies, booking data shows greater than 70,000 passengers traveled to/from Europe and North America this January-July.
German visiting friends and relatives and inbound tourists were the most important market, followed by France, the US, Italy, and the UK. A superb chunk flew with Ethiopian Airlines and Qatar Airways, however the latter is exiting the market.
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To make sure Turkish Airlines’ aircraft are consistently filled, especially during off-peak times, Windhoek would probably should be served on a one-stop terminator or triangular basis. It could join Discover Airlines from Frankfurt, although Air France is rumored to be keen to launch Paris CDG-Windhoek service.
What do you make of all of it? Tell us within the comments.