Turkish Airlines’ inaugural flight to Melbourne landed on Saturday, marking a significant milestone for the airline. The new route connects Australia to Istanbul, a city with a rich history spanning nearly 3,000 years and uniquely straddling Europe and Asia across the Bosporus Strait.

The red-tailed Boeing 777 touched down at Melbourne Airport at 8:40 pm on Saturday, 2 March, after a 16-hour journey, including a brief stopover in Singapore. Despite the Boeing 777’s high cabin noise levels and dated 2-3-2 business class layout, the aircraft’s lie-flat beds offer ample legroom.

However, the Boeing 777 will only service the Melbourne-Istanbul route for the first week. From Wednesday, 6 March, the superior Boeing 787 Dreamliner will replace the aircraft, featuring a modern 1-2-1 business class layout. Starting in April, the Dreamliner will make way for an Airbus A350, which many travellers prefer, sporting the same seat configuration.

From 6 March, Turkish Airlines will operate three weekly flights between Istanbul and Melbourne, with a stopover in Singapore. Non-stop flights are also on the horizon following the airline’s purchase of ultra-long-range Airbus A350-1000 jets.

Turkish Airlines Chairman, Dr Ahmet Bolat, expressed his excitement about adding Melbourne as the 346th destination to their network, making Australia the 130th country and 6th continent under their wings. He anticipates a boom in bilateral tourism, trade, and business opportunities as the airline brings Turkish and Australian people closer together.

Melbourne Airport Chief of Aviation Jim Parashos welcomed Turkish Airlines’ arrival, stating that it would provide Australians with easy connections into Turkey and beyond. He highlighted Melbourne’s appeal as the first Australian destination for Turkish Airlines, given its large Turkish community and its status as the capital of food, sport, and culture.

Turkish Airlines is keen to extend its nascent Australian network to Sydney, especially since the Australian government approved a total of 21 flights per week between Australia and Turkey in December 2023, tripling the previous allocation. This covers not only Sydney and Melbourne but also Brisbane, Perth, and the new Western Sydney airport opening in 2026, with room for further growth to 28 flights per week from October 2024 and 35 per week from October 2025.

The long leg between Singapore and Istanbul will take around 11 hours, with a total Melbourne-Istanbul travel time of approximately 21 hours, including the Singapore stopover. From Istanbul, passengers can conveniently connect to numerous destinations across Europe, the UK, and Africa.

For passengers with stopovers at Turkey’s impressive new Istanbul Airport between six and 24 hours, Turkish Airlines offers two complimentary packages for exploring the sprawling city, which straddles Europe and Asia on either side of the Bosporus. These include eight city tours and a more comprehensive Stopover in Istanbul program, which consists of a complimentary stay of up to two nights in a five-star hotel.

In December 2023, Turkish Airlines invested significantly in its fleet, signing a blockbuster airplane order worth over US$40 billion for over 200 Airbus jets, including 60 A350-900s and 15 A350-1000s. The A350-1000 is also the basis for Qantas’ planned non-stop flights connecting Sydney and Melbourne to London and New York.

The 15,000km distance between Sydney/Melbourne and Istanbul falls within the range of the standard A350-1000, especially since Airbus recently boosted the twinjet’s scope to almost 16,500km. This development positions Turkish Airlines well for its planned expansion in Australia.

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