Ilker Ayci has a lot on his mind. With the delivery of further Boeing 787-9 aircraft and the first Airbus A350, the president of the supervisory board intends to further expand Turkish Airlines' route network. The airline already prides itself on flying to more countries than any other competitor.
Cambodia, for instance, is an exciting destination, Ayci told the newspaper Hürriyet. Turkish Airlines is also considering flights to other destinations in China. The manager also sees potential in South America in addition to the existing route to the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo. In the USA, Ayci is interested in Las Vegas. "There will be surprising connections.
A350 delivered sooner
To accelerate the rate of growth, Ayci wants to talk to Airbus about delivering the A350 sooner. But Turkish Airlines does not only have plans for long-haul flights. The Turkish flag carrier also plans to expand on short- and medium-haul routes. But the grounding of the Boeing 737 Max has thrown a spanner into the works. In addition, delivery problems with the Airbus A321 Neo had arisen. " Time was lost there" explains Ayci.
Therefore, the airline is now also looking for other regional aircraft. "In the meantime, we are interested in the Airbus A220 and in the Embraer 190 and 195", Ayci says according to Hürriyet. He left the question open whether this would be a permanent purchase or just an interim solution. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had recently threatened to cancel orders for over 100 Boeing aircraft placed by Turkish Airlines due to his country's exclusion from the F-35 program.
