For quite some time, the word on the street was that Turkish Airlines would be launching flights to Australia. That is official now as the airline is set to launch flights between Istanbul and Melbourne via Singapore in March 2024.
Continue reading to learn more.
Melbourne to Become Turkish Airlines’ First Destination in Australia
Turkish Airlines will start flying between Istanbul and Melbourne on March 1, 2024. More precisely, the Istanbul – Singapore portion of the inaugural flight will depart on March 1, 2024, while the inaugural Singapore – Melbourne sector, as well as the return flight, will take place on March 2, 2024.
While originally the route was scheduled to launch on March 15, 2024, that has been moved up by two weeks as reported by Aeroroutes on January 28, 2024.
From then on, the flights will operate three times a week with the following schedule:
- TK168 / Istanbul – Singapore / 5:30PM – 8:50AM+1 / Mon, Wed, Fri
- TK168 / Singapore – Melbourne / 10:20AM – 8:40PM / Tue, Thu, Sat
- TK169 / Melbourne – Singapore / 10:30PM – 3:00AM+1 / Tue, Thu, Sat
- TK169 / Singapore – Istanbul / 4:30AM – 11:15AM / Wed, Fri, Sun
On the first two flights, Turkish Airlines will use the 777-300ER.
Then, Turkish Airlines will deploy its 787-9s on the route. Those are equipped with 30 staggered business class seats in a 1-2-1 layout and 270 economy class seats in a 3-3-3 layout for a total capacity of 300 passengers.
Finally, starting from March 31, 2024, the route will switch to the A350-900. Turkish Airlines operates the type in two configurations – one with a total of 316 seats (28 in business class and 288 in economy class) and the other 329 seats (32 in business class and 297 in economy class.
Once the flights to Melbourne launch, Turkish Airlines will adjust its current schedule on the Istanbul – Singapore route in such a way that there will be two daily roundtrips between the cities. The airline will also have fifth freedom rights on the Singapore – Melbourne route meaning it will be able to sell tickets for just that portion of the flight.
Turkish Airlines will be the first airline to offer direct (expected to become non-stop in the future once the airline receives A350-1000s) flights between Istanbul and Melbourne.
That said, as indicated above, the airline already operates the Istanbul – Singapore segment, 13 times a week. Singapore Airlines offers four weekly flights on the route too.
The Singapore – Melbourne route is already operated multiple times a day by Singapore Airlines, more than daily by Scoot and Qantas, and daily by Emirates.
Turkish Airlines’ Future Expansion in Australia
Announcing the new route, Melbourne Airport’s Chief of Aviation Jim Parashos noted “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…” Not only that indicates that Turkish Airlines has ambitions to expand its Australian network further.
In April 2024, Turkish Airlines revealed its targets for 2033 – the 100th anniversary of the airline’s founding. One of the key targets is growing its passenger network to 400 destinations.
According to Turkish Airlines’ chairman Ahmet Bolat, Melbourne will be the airline’s 346th destination. Australia will be the 130th country and sixth continent on Turkish Airlines’ route map.
With the airline already offering an extensive network of flights around Europe, Asia, and Africa, adding further destinations in Australia is likely going to be one pillar of the airline’s strategy to reach the target 400 destinations. As Executive Traveller reported:
- The Australian government increased the number of flights permitted to operate between Australia and Turkey from seven to 21 a week
- In addition to Melbourne, the expansion above also covers Sydney, Western Sydney (airport scheduled to open in 2026), Brisbane, and Perth
- The approved frequency is expected to increase further, to 28 flights per week from October 2024 and 35 from October 2025
- Eventually serving Melbourne and Sydney daily is one of Turkish Airlines’ strategic targets
Summary
In mid-March 2024, Turkish Airlines will launch direct flights between Istanbul and Melbourne, becoming one of the few airlines in the world (like Emirates) to serve all six inhabited continents.
The flights will initially operate three times a week using the 787-9, switching to the A350-900 at the end of March 2024. Eventually, once it receives some A350-1000s, Turkish Airlines intends to serve the route daily and non-stop. For the time being, the flights will operate via Singapore.
First published on 2024/01/19. Updated on 2024/01/29 with the latest launch date and equipment information.
