Turkish Airlines named 'Most Sustainable Flag Carrier Airline' in World Finance awards

The climate crisis presents great challenges for the aviation industry, and Turkish Airlines has demonstrated its dedication to green growth after being named a leader in sustainability.

Turkish Airlines was crowned 'Most Sustainable Flag Carrier Airline' in World Finance's Sustainability Awards 2022.

In the magazine's summer issue, the operator outlined its sustainable strategy, including growing its new generation fleet with more environmentally friendly aircraft, as well as reducing greenhouse gas emissions with its fuel saving policy.

"Sustainability is central to our strategy for growth and profitability as we aim to keep adding value for our stakeholders while enhancing our products and services," Prof. Dr. Ahmet Bolat, chairman of the board and the executive committee of Turkish Airlines, said in an exclusive World Finance article.

Since 2008, the company has taken on more than 100 operational optimisation projects to reduce its carbon footprint – and the pandemic has not held back innovation. In 2021 alone, Turkish Airlines saved more than 37,000 tonnes of fuel, equivalent to a reduction of over 116,800 tonnes of greenhouse gases. What's more, the airline's first flight using sustainable aviation fuel took off in 2022, and there are plans in the pipeline to begin producing this fuel rather than just using it.

In line with the company's principle of 'continuous improvement', more innovation is on the horizon. "Taking into account the expectations of our stakeholders and related parties," Bolat said, "we will be integrating sustainability into every field in which we operate, working day in, day out in line with the vision, mission and general strategy of our airline."

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Turkish Airlines heads to Montenegro’s coastal jewel – Tivat.

Turkish Airlines heads to Montenegro’s coastal jewel – Tivat.

Earlier this month, Turkish Airlines started a new regular scheduled service to Tivat, its second destination in Montenegro following on from its route to Podgorica.  The carrier has scheduled Boeing 737 aircraft from the route which operates three days a week, Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays until the end of October 2022.

Turkish Airlines General Manager Bilal Ekşi said: “As we are starting our operations to our second destination in Montenegro, a country we share historical ties with, we are connecting Tivat to 128 countries of the world as our 340th destination. As a centre of attraction with its wonderful location, history, rich cuisine and beauty of the Adriatic coast, we are happy to connect Tivat with the world with our wide flight network.”

Flight Schedule;

Flight Number          Day               Departure                           Arrival

TK1095                    Saturday           İstanbul         07:10        08:20  Tivat

TK1096                    Saturday           Tivat              09:10       12:00   Istanbul

TK1097                    Monday and

                                  Thursday        Istanbul         16:30         16:30  Tivat

TK1098                    Monday and

                                  Thursday       Tivat               18:30         21:20  Istanbul

Local times.

Tivat has a population of just under 20,000 and is already a popular spot for vacations for holidaymakers from all over Europe.  It is also popular with the yachting fraternity due to its exciting coastline, calm waters and quality marinas.

The airport is just under two miles from the city and is the biggest in Montenegro with seasonal flights from many airlines, including. Jet2, easyJet, Brussels Airlines, Eurowings, LOT, Lufthansa, SAS, Transavia, flydubai and Norwegian.

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Air Serbia and Turkish Airlines look to enhance relationship

The national airline of the Republic of Serbia, Air Serbia and Turkish Airlines has signed an enhancement to their commercial cooperation deal with a new Memorandum of Understanding at the 78th IATA Annual General Meeting held in Doha.

Turkish Airlines and Air Serbia will explore more ways of deepening the commercial cooperation between them, which either could led to a joint venture or a financial stake in the company. A joint venture is said to enable the two carriers to operate more competitive flights between the two nations

Starting from July, Air Serbia is adding flights to the Belgrade-Istanbul service, increasing the schedule to 10 flights a week.

Turkish Airlines CEO Bilal Ekşi said: "We are delighted to sign this MoU with Air Serbia to explore enhanced cooperation opportunities and negotiate further to expand our existing partnership now.

We would like to thank Mr Jiří Marek and his team on this occasion for their continuous support on our common works which will further contribute to the improvement of the relations between our airlines, countries and communities."

Jiří Marek, CEO of Air Serbia said: “We are pleased to further strengthen our good relations and cooperation with Turkish Airlines. It is our great pleasure to announce that Air Serbia and Turkish Airlines will continue to look for new commercial opportunities for creating efficient and mutually beneficial relationships, while considering the option of joining forces to achieve better connectivity and offer for our customers through a possible Joint Venture on the services between Serbia and Turkey. In this way, we are contributing to the further improvement of relations between our two states, in the interest of users and communities in both countries.”

 

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Voyager Aviation Holdings sees Turkish Airlines extend leases of five Airbus A330-300 aircraft...

Voyager Aviation Holdings, a privately held aviation investment firm and commercial aircraft leasing company based in Ireland has announced this week a deal with Turkish Airlines.

The two firms have successfully extended an agreement for the long-term lease of five Rolls-Royce-powered A330-300 aircraft, for four more years. VAH delivered these aircraft to Turkish Airlines during 2016 and 2017 for an initial lease term of six years following the installation of a new, dual-class cabin interior.

“We are very pleased to continue our valued partnership with Turkish Airlines and support the airline in its growth. Turkish Airlines continually distinguishes itself as one of the world’s most successful airlines. The airline continues to expand its flight network, having already distinguished itself as the airline that flies to more countries than any other through its Istanbul hub,” added VAH Executive Chairman Hooman Yazhari.

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Turkish Cargo Awarded as The Fastest Growing Air Cargo Brand In 2022

Turkish Cargo Awarded as The Fastest Growing Air Cargo Brand In 2022

Turkish Cargo, the successful air cargo brand of the flag carrier Turkish Airlines, has been awarded with the "Fastest Growing International Cargo Airline of the Year" at the "International Award for Excellence in Air Cargo" ceremony organized by Stat Trade Times magazine.

Commenting on the award; Turkish Airlines Chief Cargo Officer Turhan Özen, declared: “We are pleased and honoured to be announced as the fastest-growing air cargo brand in the globe once again. I would like to thank all our colleagues who have participated in this success. As Turkish Cargo; we are at the centre of the rapidly growing and developing logistics industry with air cargo services to 132 countries worldwide. With the awareness of this important position, we are raising the bar for success every day. With the strength of Turkish Cargo’s infrastructure and technology investments, its wide network and unique geographical location; we aim to make our brand one of the top 3 air cargo carriers in the world.”

Participants from the air cargo industry, agencies, customers and readers of the global air cargo industry voted for the Stat Trade Times awards, which is considered as one of the largest and most prominent events in the Asian air cargo market.

The award ceremony, which took place in Mumbai, India, brought together industry professionals and air cargo companies from all over the world. Turkish Cargo executives who attended the ceremony received the “Fastest Growing International Cargo Airline of the Year” award.

In addition to the prestigious award given to Turkish Cargo; the ceremony, in which awards went to more than 20 categories, ended after the gala dinner where the achievements were celebrated.

Providing sustainable growth with its infrastructure, operational capabilities, fleet and expert staff and becoming the 5th largest air cargo brand in the world by the end of 2021, Turkish Cargo aims to be one of the top 3 air cargo brands in the world. With its perfectionist service approach, the carrier is among the first choices of global companies in their search for reliable business partners.

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Turkish Airlines adding flights to Juba, South Sudan's Capital to its route network.

Turkish Airlines adding flights to Juba

Photo by Görkem Geçim on Unsplash

Turkish Airlines continues to expand its flight network with flights to Juba, the capital of South Sudan, as of June 1st. Connecting Africa to more destinations than any other in the world, Turkish Airlines has increased the number of destinations on the African Continent to 62 with Juba.

The flag carrier brand will be operating Juba flights 3 days a week, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays with Boeing B737-8 aircraft.

Speaking during the ceremony held at Juba International Airport for the inauguration of the route, Turkish Airlines General Manager Bilal Ekşi said: “We believe that the importance of Africa for the world trade and tourism will be increasing in the medium and long term thanks to the development of industrial investments. In this context, as Turkish Airlines, we are pleased to inaugurate flights to Juba, the capital of South Sudan and will continue to connect Africa to the world in line with the demand and market growth.”

Turkish Airlines has increased the number of destination countries to 129, and overall destinations to 338 with Juba; while offering a wide range of connection opportunities to its guests with new destinations, the carrier also continues to provide high-end services worldwide.

In addition to air passenger transportation, Turkish Airlines acts as an important bridge to develop international commercial ties with cargo transportation through its wide flight network.

Flight Number Frequency                                   Departure     Arrival

TK613                Monday – Wednesday- Friday    IST 03:05 08:00 JUB

TK614                Monday – Wednesday- Friday   JUB 10:00 16:40 IST

*All times are in LMT.

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The first of seven Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft has been delivered to Turkish Airlines from the leasing giant BOC Aviation Limited.

 The first of seven Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft has been delivered to Turkish Airlines from the leasing giant BOC Aviation Limited.   All seven aircraft are part of the Company’s existing order book and will be powered by CFM LEAP-1B engines.

“We are delighted to build on our 18-year relationship with Turkish Airlines and to support the airline in its fleet development plans with the most fuel-efficient, technologically advanced aircraft,” said Robert Martin, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, BOC Aviation. “This transaction illustrates our strategy of long-term, sustainable growth by building a portfolio of latest technology aircraft.”

 

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Sustainability themed Turkish Airlines aircraft is in the skies

Turkish Airlines has introduced a special design element adorned with leaves on its Airbus 321 type TC-JSU tail numbered aircraft, which was used for its environmentalist fuel operation. 

The global carrier operated its first flight with the new themed aircraft, flight TK1795, to Stockholm. In line with efforts to lead towards widespread use of environmentally friendly fuel, the flight used biofuel during its operation and was also undertaken with the zero-waste principle.

In addition to providing information on the sustainability actions with the Green Class concept of this first flight, the flag carrier also took new environmentally conscious actions. While kraft tissues, paper cups and wooden salt and pepper shakers were used on the flight, all passengers were served complimentary, healthy green tea. Other special measures included environmentally-friendly pillow covers and blankets, which were produced with 100 percent recycled certificated threads in order to save on water and FSC certified wooden toys gifted to child passengers.

On the environmentally friendly aircraft, Turkish Airlines Chairman of the Board and the Executive Committee, Prof. Dr Ahmet Bolat stated: "As the national flag carrier of Turkiye, our newly designed aircraft is now in the skies to underline the importance of sustainability for us. With the biofuel expression on our aircraft, we wish to emphasize the significance of using sustainable aviation fuel as it is one of the biggest hurdles in the aviation industry's struggle against carbon emissions. Thus, we are supporting the biofuel manufacturing efforts and aim to increase our flights which use biofuel during their operations."

The global carrier will continue its efforts to lower its carbon emissions with new generation aircraft added to its already young fleet of 8.5 average age, while planning to add new cities that are served with operations using biofuel including Stockholm, Oslo, Gothenburg, Copenhagen, Paris and London.

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Turkish Airlines and GOL sign new codeshare deal

Turkish Airlines and GOL sign new codeshare deal

GOL Linhas Aéreas and Turkish Airlines have confirmed a new codeshare deal and frequent flyer programme agreement has been reached that will greatly increase options for passengers on each other's airlines.

The codeshare deal allows Turkish Airlines passengers to connect to the entire GOL-operated network within Brazil – that’s some 60 destinations from its São Paulo hub as well as to Asuncion, Santiago in Chile, Montevideo and Lima.

Currently, Turkish Airlines have up to 7 flights a week between Istanbul and São Paulo mostly using their A350 aircraft.

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Finnair and Turkish Airlines launch codeshares, enabling more choice for travellers

Finnair and Turkish Airlines launch codeshares, enabling more choice for travellers

Finnair and Turkish Airlines today announced a codeshare agreement that brings more choice to the airline’s customers. Starting September 29, the Finnair AY code will be added to Turkish Airlines route between Helsinki and Istanbul, and from Istanbul to Athens, Sofia, Thessaloniki, Amman, Sharm El Sheikh, Hurghada, Luxor, Antalya and Gazipasa.  Respectively, the Turkish Airlines TK code will be added to the following routes from Finnair’s Helsinki hub: Kuopio, Vaasa, Oulu, Rovaniemi, Reykjavik, Tallinn, Tartu, Riga, Vilnius, Antalya and Gazipasa.

“We are happy to be able to offer more options to our customers, as travel now starts to recover and our customers are again able to fulfil their travel dreams”, says Ole Orvér, Chief Commercial Officer, Finnair. “We also welcome Turkish Airlines’ customers to explore the beautiful Nordics through our extensive network of connections from Helsinki.”

“We are glad to expand our current interline cooperation in terms of this codeshare agreement with Finnair. With the introduction of joint flights on several destinations in Finland, Turkey and Baltics, Iceland, South Europe, North Africa and Middle East, passengers would enjoy more travel alternatives through the combined flights”, said Ahmet Bolat PhD., Turkish Airlines’ Chief Investment & Technology Officer.

Turkish Airlines flies to more countries and international destinations than any other airline in the world, and currently operates to more than 300 international passenger and cargo destinations in total, in 127 countries.

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Aviation Capital Group Announces Financing of One Airbus A350-900 and Three Airbus A321neo Aircraft for Turkish Airlines

Aviation Capital Group ACG, a leading aircraft asset manager, announced today the secured financing of one Airbus A350-900 aircraft and three Airbus A321neo aircraft for Turkish Airlines (THY).

In connection with the A350-900 financing, ACG’s Aircraft Financing Solutions (AFS) program utilized a portion of its $650 million secured funding facility to act as a direct lender under a finance lease to THY. Use of the facility allowed ACG to quickly and efficiently progress from mandate to providing delivery date financing in less than four weeks.

Following the A350-900 financing, ACG partnered with Societe Generale (SG) to provide an ACG guarantee for the secured loan component of an Italian lease structure related to three A321neo aircraft, the first of which was delivered to THY this week. “We are very happy that ACG was able to respond to THY’s financing needs as both a direct lender and a loan guarantor. This demonstrates the flexibility of the AFS program and our ability to utilize a multitude of financing structures to address our clients' requirements,” said Andrew Falk, Managing Director of ACG.

“We are delighted to have partnered with ACG so as to provide an extremely competitive financing solution tailored to THY’s needs, executed smoothly in a very short timeframe,” said Emanuele Maiocchi, Director of SG Milan Structured Solution & Leasing team.

Laurent Floquet of SG, Managing Director and Head of Aviation Finance for EMEA, added, “Both THY and ACG are key clients of SG’s global aviation finance franchise, and we are very pleased to have been able to serve both through the delivery of an innovative and value-added solution.”

Aysegul Denli, Turkish Airlines’ Senior Vice President Finance, noted, “With an innovative structure embedding an ACG guarantee coverage combined with an Italian lease for three A321neo and the ACG secured loan facility for one A350-900, a competitive overall cost of financing has been obtained by Turkish Airlines with the solid commitment of the lenders during a challenging time for the aviation sector. Documentation and initial deliveries are achieved in a very tight timeline despite the continuing negative impacts of the Covid crisis and the global lockdowns.”

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Turkish Airlines restarting flights to the USA and China next week.

More international flights will resume later this month, including to USA, China and South Korea the CEO of Turkish Airlines confirmed on Friday.

The airline has already started services to many destinations in Europe this week and will reopen flights to Chicago and Washington D.C on 19 June, whilst flights to Los Angeles would begin again on 24 June.

At the moment, Bilal Eksi said flights to Shanghai will restart on 19 June with a weekly service and from 24 June the carrier would fly twice a week to both Hong Kong and Seoul.

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Slow recovery for Turkish Airlines as domestic flights resume

There will be a long slow recovery in global demand for air travel towards the end of the summer months according to Turkish Airlines, who expects passenger numbers will drop by as much as 60% for this year - compared to initial expectations.

Chairman Ilker Ayci warned the figures will be lower than expected because of the ongoing coronavirus COVID-19 crisis and the apparent slowness of countries relaxing travelling restrictions and opening borders.

Turkish Airlines has resumed many domestic flights today, Monday, after a suspension of around two months.  The airline is expecting to restart some of its international flights next Wednesday, June 10th, but the timetable will be a far cry from the 126 countries it served before the outbreak took hold globally.

Turkish Airlines to suspend all domestic flights

Photo Turkish Airlines

The national airline of Turkey, Turkish Airlines will suspend all its domestic flights until April 20th at the earliest, the firms CEO Bilal Eksi announced via social media today.

The Istanbul based carrier had already axed its international route network until May 1 and had reduced its domestic route network to just 14 destinations. Now the airline is cutting all flights after the authorities set up exclusion, effectively banning access to or from over 30 cities for the next 14 days. 

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Turkey halting all international and limiting domestic flights over coronavirus outbreak

The Turkish Authorities are making major changes to travel inside the country to help prevent the spread of coronavirus COVID-19 as cases rise to nearly 5,700 infections and 92 deaths.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for a “voluntary quarantine” whereby the population should stay home, only going out for shopping and essential needs,. During the announcement on Friday, he also advised that all international flights were to be stopped and intercity travel would be limited and subject to a governor’s approval.

The Interior Ministry has ordered that all citizens must remain in the cities where they reside and would only be allowed to leave with a doctor’s note, in the event of the death of a close family member or if they have no accommodation. People will need to apply to the Travel Permission Council, part of the governor's office should they need to travel. 

Turkish Airlines CEO Bilal Eksi said domestic flights would only operate from Ankara and Istanbul to certain big cities as of midnight Saturday. "As of Saturday 23:59, our domestic flights will be carried out from Istanbul Airport and Ankara Esenboga Airport."

The airline has confirmed that only domestic flights to Adana, Ankara, Antalya, Diyarbakır, Erzurum, Gaziantep, Istanbul, Izmir, Kayseri, Konya, Malatya, Samsun, Trabzon and Van will be operated. All other domestic flights are currently suspended.  At the moment the cessation of services runs until April 17th, 2020, but that date is being kept under review.  Turkish Airlines had already limited its international operation to just five routes, however, these have now also been halted, with all international flights also suspended 17th. 

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Turkish Airlines slashing international network to just five routes

Turkish Airlines officials confirmed on Sunday that the airline will slash its international route network down to just five routes from this week. 

The airline will continue to operate services to New York, Washington, Hong Kong, Moscow and Addis Ababa whilst all other international services will be suspended until 17 April 2020.

The carrier also confirmed that it would continue to operate to all its current domestic destinations but on a reduced schedule, with no date yet set for a return to the normal timetable. 

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New route to Vancouver with Turkish Airlines from Istanbul

Turkish Airlines has confirmed it will launch a new direct service from its home base of Istanbul to the vibrant and exciting Canadian city of Vancouver. 

The airline will operate three times a week using a Boeing 787-9 with a seat configuration of 30 Business class and 270 Economy class seats.

 

From June 09, 2020.

FLT NBR	START	DAYS	DEP		ARR
TK 075	09/06/2020	.2.4..7	IST	14:05	15:50	YVR
TK 076	09/06/2020	.2.4..7	YVR	17:20	14:50	IST

Turkish Airlines added Malabo, the capital of Equatorial Guinea, to its flight network

Turkish Airlines added Malabo, the capital of Equatorial Guinea,

to its flight network

As the airline that flies to more countries than any other, Turkish Airlines continues to expand its flight network. Flag carrier started its operations to Malabo on February 7, making the capital of Equatorial Guinea its 319th destination.

As the 60th destination of the global carrier in the continent of Africa, flights to Malabo will be operated on Istanbul – Port Harcourt – Malabo – Istanbul route with Boeing 737-900 type aircraft. 

More flights to Tunis says Turkish Airlines

Turkish Airlines have confirmed that from the 8th June they will be increasing the number of flights operated between Istanbul and Tunis.  The rapidly growing airline says it will ramp up the service from 14 flights a week to 18, due to increasing demand. 

28/01/2020 by Turkish Airlines

FLT NBR	START	DAYS	DEP		ARR
TK 661	29/03/2020	1234567	IST	08:20	9:20	TUN
TK 662	29/03/2020	1234567	TUN	10:50	15:40	IST
TK 663	29/03/2020	1234567	IST	15:10	16:15	TUN
TK 664	29/03/2020	1234567	TUN	17:10	22:05	IST
TK 657	08/06/2020	12.4.6.	IST	21:45	22:55	TUN
TK 658	08/06/2020	12.4.6.	TUN	23:50	4:45	IST

All times are in LMT

Tunis......

Tunis is a city full of history and charm,  it was founded by the Berbers sometime in the 2nd millennium BCE and has been controlled by Phoenicians, Romans, Arab Muslims, the Ottomans, the Spanish, the French and the Germans though its history achieving independence as the capital of Tunisia in 1956. It is partly this heady mix of control that has helped Tunis become the wonderful mix of historic and modern, African and European blend of cultures it is today.  

Lonely Planet says "'living history' really does apply. Here, waves of colonisation have endowed the city's fabric and culture with an intoxicatingly rich and complex flavour that becomes apparent wherever you explore.".  Well, I can't argue with that,  it is, as I might say with less linguistic fashion, a big old fascinating melting pot, that is just begging to be explored.

Turkish Airlines chairman helps boost ties with Germany as the carrier increases services to Munich

The German Association for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses - BVMW - held its General Assembly on January 27th.  This regular event is a key meeting point for many entrepreneurs, political leaders, CEOs and prominent names of their respective fields. 

Turkish Airlines Chairman of the Board and the Executive Committee, M. İlker Aycı was there to further cement Turkish - German relations and strengthen the airlines ties with the German organization.

İlker Aycı promised that the global carrier would continue its commitment to this strategic partnership. BVMW and its vast network of members can enjoy the exclusive advantages when flying with Turkish Airlines for their travels around the globe with the extensive flight network of the global carrier that includes 318 international destinations in 126 countries, more than any other airline.