Turkish Airlines will begin long-awaited flights to Australia in March 2024, with the first flight taking off from Istanbul on Friday March 15 and touching down in Melbourne on Saturday March 16.
The Star Alliance member will initially run three Boeing 787 flights per week between Istanbul and Melbourne, with a stopover each way in Singapore, although non-stop flights are on the horizon following the airline’s purchase of ultra long-range Airbus A350-1000 jets sporting all-new business class suites.
Flight TK168 will depart Istanbul at 5.30pm every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, arriving into Singapore at 8.50am the following day; at 10.20am the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner will be wheels up and bound for an 8.40pm touchdown at Melbourne.
Flight TK169 will leave Melbourne at 10.30pm every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, setting down at Singapore’s Changi Airport at 3am for 90 minutes of grab-and-go breakfast; then at 4.30am it’s time for the long leg to Istanbul, where the jet will pull up at 11.15am the following day.
With tickets now on sale, Turkish Airlines chairman Dr Ahmet Bolat said “we are excited to add Melbourne to our flight network as the 346th destination,” while Australia “becomes the 130th country and 6th continent under our wings.”
“Bilateral tourism, trade and business opportunities will boom as we bring Turkish and Australian people closer and the bond between our countries gets stronger.”
For his part, Melbourne Airport Chief of Aviation Jim Parashos said Turkish Airlines’ arrival will provide Australians with easy connections into Türkiye and beyond.
“Istanbul is the only city to straddle two continents and has always been an important trading post, but it is now also one of the most important transit hubs in the world.”
“It’s no surprise that Turkish Airlines has chosen Melbourne as its first Australian destination, given we are home to the nation’s largest Turkish community and our position as the capital of food, sport and culture.”
However, this doesn’t rule out the prospect of flights from Istanbul to Sydney, especially since Australian government in December 2023 approved a total of 21 flights per week – tripling the previous allocation of seven flights per week between Australia and Türkiye – with immediate effect.
This covers not only Sydney and Melbourne but also Brisbane, Perth and the new Western Sydney airport opening in 2026, with room for further growth to 28 flights per week from October 2024 and 35 per week from October 2025.
Turkish Airlines intends to ramp up the debut flight frequency from three services to five services per week, and eventually daily flights to both Melbourne and Sydney “is our strategic target,” Bolat told Executive Traveller on a visit to Australia in July 2023.
In addition, Turkish Airlines will also be able to sell a single leg of its Istanbul-Singapore-Melbourne route, such as Istanbul-Singapore and Melbourne-Singapore, under what the aviation industry terms a ‘fifth freedom right’: something chairman Bolat had previously described as “really a crucial factor” for the Australian route.
This will open up another option for Melbourne-Singapore travellers on a corridor already crowded by Singapore Airlines, Qantas and Emirates, along with low-cost carriers Jetstar and Scoot.
And with flights to Australia now on the way, Turkish Airlines is targetting top-tier Qantas Platinum Frequent Flyers with a free status match to Turkish Airlines Elite Gold.
The Turkish Airlines experience
Turkish Airlines is held in high regard by business class travellers, with one highlight of the journey being “restaurant quality” gourmet meals prepared by the airline’s signature Flying Chefs – and yes, they’re actual chefs, not cabin crew wearing a fancy hat.
Turkish Airlines’ Airbus A350s and Boeing 787s each have flatbed business class seats in the same design as Singapore Airlines’ Airbus A350 and Boeing 787-10 ‘regional business class’.
These seats are arranged 1-2-1 to provide privacy and direct aisle access for every passenger, with an 18-inch video screen plus free inflight WiFi.
That said, new business class suites are on the way, which has been developed by Turkish Airlines under the codename Crystal and are expected to be revealed in May this year.
Melbourne to Istanbul, via Singapore
Ahead of their 10.30pm flight out of from Melbourne, Turkish Airlines business class passengers – along with Elite and Elite Plus members of the airline’s Miles&Smiles loyalty program, and their Star Alliance Gold equivalents – should enjoy access to the lounges of fellow Star Alliance carriers Air New Zealand or Singapore Airlines, depending on the opening hours of those lounges.
During their Singapore stopovers at Changi Airport’s Terminal 1 – the same terminal as used by Qantas and Emirates, among others – those same premium travellers will break their journey at T1’s SATS Lounge.
The long leg between Singapore and Istanbul will take around 11 hours, with a total Melbourne-Istanbul travel time of around 21 hours including the Singapore stopover.
From Istanbul, of course, scores of convenient TK connections spear out across Europe, the UK and Africa.
For stopovers at Türkiye’s impressive new Istanbul Airport between six and 24 hours, the airline offers two free packages for exploring the sprawling city, which straddles both Europe and Asia on either side of the Bosporus: a choice between eight city tours, and a more comprehensive Stopover in Istanbul program including a complimentary stay of up to two nights in a five-star hotel.
Turkish Airlines’ Istanbul Airport hub features two stunning lounges – one for business class travellers, the other for frequent flyers holding Elite and Elite Plus status in Turkish Airlines’ Miles&Smiles program (and their Star Alliance Gold equivalents).
One of Turkish Airlines’ two flagship lounges at Istanbul.
One of Turkish Airlines’ two flagship lounges at Istanbul.
Non-stop flights to follow…
In December 2023 Turkish Airlines signed a blockbuster airplane order worth more than US$40 billion at sticker price for over 200 Airbus jets – with options for over 100 more – includes 60 A350-900s and 15 A350-1000s.
The A350-1000 forms the basis for Qantas’ planned non-stop marathons connecting Sydney and Melbourne to London and New York, albeit with modifications such as an additional fuel tank and a weight-saving ‘premium-heavy’ seating configuration compared to standard A350-1000 jets in order to travel the 17,000km between Sydney/Melbourne and London.
However, the 15,000km distance between Sydney/Melbourne and Istanbul falls within the range of the standard A350-1000, especially since Airbus recently boosted the twinjet’s scope to almost 16,500km.
Bolat said those jets would also fly to South American destinations such as Santiago and Bueno Aires.
Turkish Airlines Airbus A350 & Boeing 787 business class.
Turkish Airlines Airbus A350 & Boeing 787 business class.
Bolat’s ambition to connect Istanbul and Australia is a long-held one, noting the airline “carried 120,837 passengers in 2019 and 118,847 passengers in 2022 with airlines with codeshare agreements from Australia, where we do not have direct flights yet.”
Several months ago, Bolat also suggested to Turkish media outlet Hürriyet Daily News that Aussie actress Margot Robbie might become the new face of the Star Alliance carrier, in a move timed to capitalise the start of Australian flights.
“We are currently in discussions with Australian actress Margot Robbie. We plan to bring her to Türkiye a week before the flight and explore various places, including the historic site of Göbeklitepe.”
Margot Robbie: soon to be a Barbie girl, living in a Turkish Airlines world?
Margot Robbie: soon to be a Barbie girl, living in a Turkish Airlines world?
After star turns in everything from dramas Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and The Wolf of Wall Street to the Suicide Squad superhero franchise and this year’s smash hit Barbie, Queensland-born Robbie’s profile has never been higher.
Previous global advertising campaigns from Turkish Airlines have featured brand ambassadors such as sportsmen Kobe Bryant and Lionel Messi and actors Kevin Costner and Morgan Freeman.
Source: https://www.executivetraveller.com/news/turkish-airlines-melbourne-flights
