Concept art of an Airbus A350-900 in Turkish Airlines colours. Image: Airbus.
Melbourne has been named as the first destination for the latest international airline to operate into Australia.
Turkiye flag carrier Turkish Airlines will begin services from Istanbul to Melbourne via Singapore from March. Initially, the airline will operate three services a week, but hopes to expand this to daily flights in the future. A daily service would provide 109,500 seats and 3650 tonnes of air freight capacity a year on the route.
The services will initially be operated with Boeing 777-300ER aircraft and include a stop in Singapore. But it is expected this will give way to nonstop services as newer long-range aircraft such as the Airbus A350 and Boeing 787-9 enter service with the airline.
Turkish is one of the world’s largest airlines, with a network of more than 340 destinations in 120 countries throughout Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Africa from Istanbul.
Victorian Minister for Jobs and Industry Natalie Hutchins said she expected the new services to add more than $132 million annually to the state’s economy and create an estimated 840-plus jobs in the aviation and tourism sectors.
She said Melbourne had a large Turkiye-born community, and the flights were expected to boost access from Australia to key European, Middle Eastern, Balkan, and African markets via Istanbul.
“Attracting a major international carrier like Turkish Airlines to Melbourne is a huge win for Victoria,” she said. “It shows the strength of our tourism and export markets, whilst boosting local jobs across our state.”
Melbourne Airport chief executive officer Lorie Argus added: “Turkish Airlines proudly serves more international destinations than any other airline and this will open up huge opportunities for Victorian travellers and exporters.”
Turkish Airlines board and executive committee chairman Prof Dr Ahmet Bolat said: “As the airline flying to more countries than any other, we are excited to add Melbourne to our flight network.
“Trade and business opportunities will boom as we bring Turkish and Australian people closer.”
