Turkish Airlines makes Bangkok its regional center

Turkish Airlines is set to make Bangkok its regional centre as it pushes its way into Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand. Adnan Aykac, general manager for Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia stated, ‘‘While we are hopeful we can strike a deal with THAI this year, there are alternatives to support our growth in this region.’’ The Istanbul-based carrier is hopeful THAI will become its partner as it begins its venture into the Australia-New Zealand market.
The airline plans to broaden its non-stop route from Istanbul to Bangkok through to Ho Chi Minh City in October, while Kuala Lumpur and Manila are also on the horizon. And also to increase the current daily Istanbul-Bangkok flight to twice daily later this year if its partnership with THAI is successful.
Turkish Airlines views Australia as a profitable market currently not sufficiently covered and is keen to take advantage of THAI’s extensive Australian routes, before entering the region itself. At the moment they transfer around 30,000 passengers a year to THAI’s Australian network, and Turkish has had a sales office in Australia for 15 years.