DALLAS — Apart from the many aircraft orders and airline partnerships that are born at airshows around the world, airlines take advantage of these summits to unveil and launch inflight experiences and cabin updates as well.
The flag carrier of Türkiye, Turkish Airlines (TK), has presented a fully refreshed and upgraded Business Class cabin that “brightens up” the company’s luxurious premium product.
In an exclusive briefing, Chairman Ahmet Bolat explained to the media the main changes and details that have made this new cabin a compelling competitor for the price of the best suites worldwide.
The main difference between the former Business Class seat is the use of bright and clean colors in the entire hard product, ranging from delicate beige leather in the headrest to white marble used for the tray table.
This selection of shades will allow for a much more relaxing and comfortable feeling on TK's wide-body planes, starting from the Airbus A350 family units in 2026. The new cabin was designed and produced by TK’s subsidiary TCI Aircraft Interiors.
Along with the announcement of the upgraded Business Class cabin, the carrier also confirmed that Economy Class passengers will also benefit from privileges in flight. The carrier will begin offering free and unlimited Wi-Fi service on all its flights from 2026.
During the media briefing, Bolat also confirmed that TK still does not contemplate reintroducing a Premium Economy range of products after removing it in 2016, despite other airlines finding it viable and profitable.
Contemplating Further Expansion to Australia
In terms of route network strategy, Turkish Airlines declared its intention to perform a new connection move between Türkiye and Australia in the coming months.
The company is contemplating two potential options; either increasing its frequencies to Melbourne (MEL) to daily departures from Istanbul (IST) or taking a step further and launching a new route to Sydney (SYD) four times a week.
In both scenarios, technical stops in Singapore (SIN) will stay in operation, as Turkish Airlines is waiting to take delivery of the new Airbus A350-1000, which would enable non-stop flights in this segment.
The flag carrier of Türkiye is actually happy to stop at Changi Airport on its way to Oceania and does not see this as a disadvantage. This is because TK holds a very strong relationship with Singapore Airlines (SQ), which enhances demand and connectivity between Istanbul and the whole of Asia.
As confirmed by Chairman Ahmet Bolat, Turkish Airlines will not announce any aircraft order at the Farnborough International Airshow 2024 and will instead focus on promoting its new Business Class cabin on long-haul flights.
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