Summary
- Some additions, like Glasgow, Lima, and Windhoek, have not been previously stated in the carrier’s documents or the public disclosure part of its website.
- There is no indication when they’ll be added.
- Given that Qatar Airways is ending Windhoek and Air France has expressed interest, the Namibian capital could be an intriguing addition.
Turkish Airlines has disclosed 29 targeted destinations based on its highly informative September 2023 Roadshow document. Not all have been mentioned before, while some stated last year have been removed. Subject to aircraft availability, traffic rights, and commercial realities, there is no indication of when they will materialize.
Seven destinations join its wishlist
The bottom right section of the slide below summarizes the carrier’s route network intentions. It is curious why Osaka is included, given it is due to resume in December, but no matter. Glasgow was not stated in its document last year, while Newcastle was.
It has also added the Turkish cities of Bayburt and Yozgat to its wishlist, with the airports not yet open. These could potentially be served by lower-cost AnadoluJet from Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen, on the Asian side of the enormous city, or Turkish Airlines itself from Europe’s busiest airport.
Image: Turkish Airlines
Katowice, Lima (interesting!), Lomé, and Windhoek are now included. Turkish Airlines had announced Katowice in December 2022, and a five-weekly service was to have started in March. But instead, it switched to the more tourist-driven Kraków.
Its fight to launch Australian flights continues. In June, the carrier’s chairperson said Melbourne would launch by December before quickly backtracking. Its application to serve the country, whether Melbourne or Sydney or both, was submitted in September, with service expected to begin next year.
Photo: Unaccompanied Media/Shutterstock
Six destinations were cut from the list
I would be cautious about reading too much into this as destinations can be added and removed and added again later, as Katowice shows. It is just a snapshot. Nonetheless, comparing Turkish Airlines’ network intention last year shows that these have been removed:
- A Coruña (close to Santiago de Compostela, which it served between May 2013 and June 2016)
- Lankaran (Azerbaijan’s fourth most populous city)
- Makhachkala (Russia)
- Aktobe (Kazakhstan)
- Penang (Malaysia; flydubai just added it from, well, guess)
- Sialkot (Pakistan)
Photo: Adomas Daunoravicius/Shutterstock
What about Africa?
Turkish Airlines hopes to add Aswan, Brazzaville, Hargeisa, Lomé, Monrovia, Port Sudan, and Windhoek to its ever-growing African network. Based on the investor document, Africa accounted for 9% of the carrier’s revenue in the year’s first six months.
One-stop routings are often crucial in the sub-Sahara, many with fifth freedom traffic rights. While narrowbodies are often used, widebodies are important for passenger and freight demand and – as is sometimes forgotten – for particular markets to enable extra baggage to be transported.
Photo: Soos Jozsef/Shutterstock
The Namibian capital of Windhoek is interesting. Located 4,445 miles (7,154 km) from Istanbul as the crow flies, booking data shows more than 70,000 passengers traveled to/from Europe and North America this January-July.
German visiting friends and relatives and inbound tourists were the biggest market, followed by France, the US, Italy, and the UK. A good chunk flew with Ethiopian Airlines and Qatar Airways, but the latter is exiting the market.
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To ensure Turkish Airlines’ aircraft are consistently filled, especially during off-peak times, Windhoek would probably need to be served on a one-stop terminator or triangular basis. It would join Discover Airlines from Frankfurt, although Air France is rumored to be keen to launch Paris CDG-Windhoek service.
What do you make of it all? Let us know in the comments.
Sources of information: investor document, Cirium, OAG, booking data