Sudipta Dev – Mumbai
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Mehmet Akay
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Turkish Airlines has one of the largest networks in the world flying to as many as 105 countries. The majority of the passengers are however to Europe. “In Europe we fly to 90 destinations. There are many daily flights from Istanbul to UK – to London alone there are eight daily flights. There are seven gateways in Italy, which means a 100 flights a week. In Germany there are 12 destinations, Spain and France five each. Russia is also growing in importance,” said Mehmet Akay, general manager, Southern and Western India, Turkish Airlines. He pointed out that the airline has a strong student traffic. “Because the network is so wide in Europe, even Tier II and III cities in Europe you can reach by our airline. Mumbai being the business capital of India, we have many business class passengers as well,” mentioned Akay.
This is the tenth year for Turkish Airlines in India. In 2003, the airline started its operations to Delhi with three weekly flights followed by three weekly flights to Mumbai. In 2009 the fourth service was started. “The bilateral agreements have restricted the flights to 14 a week from India, seven each from Delhi and Mumbai. It is not possible to put additional flights but we have increased the capacity by changing type of aircraft. Depending on the provisions of bilateral we would like to add more flights into Delhi and Mumbai,” stated Akay. He informed that the Mumbai flights are performing above network averages – in 2012 the network average was 77 per cent, India performed about 85 per cent load factor. 80 per cent of whom are transit passengers. Akay reminded that the popularity of Turkey is increasing, “Every year we see more Indian travellers visiting Turkey. This year maybe there will be more than one lakh Indians visiting Turkey.” Many transit passengers also have a stopover in Istanbul as now there is electronic for those who have a UK, US or Schengen visa.
Currently the airline operates into 42 domestic airports, majority within one hour flight range from Istanbul. The most favourite destination for Indian travellers is Cappadocia, Izmir and Antalya. In terms of international connectivity, the US is yet another important destination. “We fly to New York, Washington, Chicago, Houston and Los Angeles. Next year May we will start Boston. In Canada we fly to Toronto, next June we will start our Montreal operations,” informed Akay. According to Akay Turkish Airlines has some differentiation from both European and Middle Eastern carriers. “We are alone in our own segment. We have western technology but Asian hospitality.”
Akay reminded that Istanbul is a very transit friendly airport, with an excellent business lounge. A new lounge will be opened soon at the airport. By 2018 a new airport will be opened in Istanbul, which will be the third biggest in world and the largest in Europe.
