Turkish Airlines will start services to Australia in March, with a rapid expansion to follow.
The carrier will initially operate flights from Istanbul to Melbourne, with a 10-hour stopover in Singapore, three times a week from March 16. Melbourne is the seat of the majority of the Turkish community in Australia.
The schedule is still unknown.
The airline said in a statement that Australia was a destination of significant interest and it had long been on the airline's agenda.
Australian Transport Minister Catherine King approved the proposal that the initial weekly flights between Turkey and Australia would increase from seven to 21, then 28 in 2024 and 35 in 2025.
The spokesperson for the Minister was quoted in Australian press saying: “This additional demand will stimulate competition and encourage more competitive airfares on international routes.”
And lower fares are what the Australian travel industry and consumer groups are currently pushing for – the refusal by King to allow Qatar Airways 28 flights a week, which it applied for last year was seen as controversial as airfares in Australia have been expensive since the resumption of flights post-COVID. At the time, the government was accused of propping up Qantas. Qatar’s application for extra rights was seen as a solution that would lower airfares.
Women of Doha case
According to the Sydney Morning Herald (smh.com.au), King has said her decision was made in the national interest and not in the commercial interests of any one airline. She also revealed that the strip-searching of a group of Australian women at Doha Airport in October 2020 was a factor in her decision. See the original story here.
Just a few months after King blocked the Qatar additional flights, she granted the Turkish Airlines flights.
Multiple cities
Laying on services to multiple cities in one country has long been a strategy employed by the Turkish carrier, and Melbourne will be its 346th destination over 130 countries. It’s believed that Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney are on the cards too. According to Turkish news site dailysabah.com, the Sydney flights are likely to be to the Western Sydney International Airport, still under construction and scheduled to open in 2026.
Notably, Turkish Airlines will be the only European carrier offering flights to Melbourne Airport.
Initially, the Istanbul-Melbourne flights will have a 10-hour layover in Singapore, but direct flights could well be in the pipeline as the plan is to introduce direct flights over the next few years.
The airline has an order in place with Airbus for 220 new aircraft as it expands its fleet. According to dailysabah.com, the airline will acquire 150 narrow-body A321 Neo aircraft plus 50 wide-body A350-900s, 15 A350-1000s and five A350F cargo aircraft. And, the airline’s CEO, Bilal Ekşi, has said the entire order could add up to 355 aircraft to be added to TK’s existing fleet of 439 jets.
