Turkish Airlines: Australia to join its network, first via stopover, then nonstop

Turkish Airlines (THY) plans to fly to Melbourne from Dec-2023, thereby reaching the only continent it does not yet serve from its Istanbul hub.

According to its Chairman Ahmet Bolat, the Istanbul-Melbourne service will deploy Boeing 787-9 aircraft and operate three times weekly via Singapore (Aviation Week, 14-Jun-2023) – a launch this year will depend on 787-9 deliveries taking place according to schedule.

THY's future plans for Australia services include daily nonstops to Sydney. It is also considering nonstop daily Istanbul-Melbourne flights, while Brisbane and Perth are possibilities in the future.

Although THY already has Airbus A350-900s and Boeing 787-9s, which could serve nonstop Australia routes from Istanbul, it is waiting for new 777 or A350 aircraft before launching them.