Happy New Year Turkish Aviation fans,
May 2018 bring joy and peace to you and your family.

You can find last months thread here:
viewtopic.php?p=20053043#p20053043





-We finished last year with another order of 3 x 77Fs for TK, to join the above two. TK already announced Aguadilla, Bogota, Houston, Kano, Miami, Taipei Taoyuan and Toronto freighter service which will start in the next coming months.
-TK has done good in 2017. It’s stock price went up from 5.15TL to 15.69TL in 2017. Let’s hope it stays this way.
-3 TK Airbus A320-232s are excepted to leave the fleet in 2018, we might see 340s leave the fleet this year? TK will receive 7 x 738MAX and 3 x 321NEO in 2018
-Pegasus received its 14th A320NEO and will receive number 15 and 16 shortly. Pegasus to receive 7 A320NEO total this year and they exercised options and will get 25 more A321NEOs.
-Istanbul might get its new airport later this year, if not in early 2019. Video from last month thread as to what it will look like:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2LrIta ... e=youtu.be
-It is also a good relief for TK that the Turkey-USA visa problems seem to be a thing of the past.
-TK predicted in 8/17 that they will carry 31M domestic and 38M int. pax for a total of 69M pax in 2017. Also TK said Load Factor will be 77-78% and 1100ton Cargo will be carried.
-Also TK to open routes to Freetown (Sierra Leone), Samarkand (Uzbekistan), Aqaba (Jordan) and Krasnodar (Russia) in 2018.

Please continue with your views, news, photos, rumors and good old sense of humor. Thank you.

Safe travels and Happy Landings to all

I hope this year TK will order new widebody aircraft such as the A350/787/777X to replace some of their older A332s and maybe convert some of their A321NEO orders to the LR so they can launch new African and Asian destinations such as Goa and Chiang Mai which could be very profitable for TK in the future.

It's about time that the older A320s and 738s start leaving the fleet as they are really starting to show their age I once flew on TC-JGI an older 738 11 years old and the interior was worn out old seats even the windows were scratched overall it felt like that we were in the 90s compared to TC-JHT a newer 738 which had an Inflight Entertainment System not the newest but was pretty modern compared to JGI.

As for the A340s TK last year reconfigured them to full pax so they can operate Hajj flights since then the A340s are operating flights to Istanbul-Jeddah-Medina where theres a lot of demand for Pilgrimage so we wont see the A340s leaving the fleet for a while thats only if the fuel prices started to rise up again but as of now theres no actual retirement date set for the A340s.

Do we have any photos of how the new cabin will look like in the new 73M and A321NEO I would imagine that every seat would be equipped with the latest generation Inflight entertainment system of some sort like the ones found on the newer A321s/738s in the fleet.

Also how will the new TK lounge in the new airport look like will it be similar to the one at Ataturk but much bigger modern and spacious hope it features the same stuff such as the golf area.

Anyways 2018 should be a solid year for TK in terms of cargo and pax I would expect new orders for widebody aircraft and new destinations this year (mostly Africa)

And please TK keep the DO&CO catering

TK787 Thanks for another great year and also thanks to everyone here for keeping us informed.

2018 sounds very exciting year for TK and Turkish aviation with the new IST Airport and as mentioned TK to order A350/787/ this year we hope ? I also hope 2018 will be the year for TK to launch flights to MEL or SYD Australia.

Finally just wanted to wish everyone here a safe and happy new year
Selamlar

Has anyone flown TK on New Years Eve lately?
I remember Dec 31, 2004 I was on TK2 Economy Class JFK-IST on Airbus 343 and we were served 187ml bottles of Piper Heidseck champagne and a slice of chocolate cake about an hour or so after take off. And this was before dinner.
Anyone else experienced something similar?
Happy New Year

BOEING777EK wrote:

And please TK keep the DO&CO catering

Agreed.

Happy 2018 everyone.

May the year bring all of you health, happiness and prosperity.

BOEING777EK wrote:

And please TK keep the DO&CO catering

Even if TK wanted to keep Do&Co, it could not. With move to new airport, Do&Co would need to invest a reported over EUR€100mil in a new facility and equipment, was unable/unwilling to take on such burden.
However, Do&Co may still maintain TK catering contract at multiple overseas outstations.

So ultimately Singapore's SATS came along and was willing to make the investment and create a JV with TK to grow its global portfolio.

I think things will be fine. Maybe people don't realize that TKs catering at hundreds of stations is provided by 3rd parties already, not Do&Co, which has a tiny footprint internationally in the world of inflight catering.

Wasn't it recently made public that the reason DO&CO and TK parted ways because TK asked for around 100m USD "air money" in addition to setting up a station at the new airport? I think DO&CO was ok with spending the funds to transfer to the new airport but declined to pay TK this additional money. Here's a source:

https://www.piyasahatti.com/docodan-hava-parasi-degil-serefiye-istedik.html

Happy New Year and All the Best for 2018!!!


I still believe that the majority of meals is still produced in the IST kitchen. At least the big chunk of EU, ME and AF flights are return catered leaving local catering only to those mentioned overseas stations. Of course, those are quite a few, but in overall the most volume is being produced in IST (well, so do I assume...).

Catering is in my experience not a matter of name, but rather the willingness of investment: the more you pay the more you getting in quality and quantity (in general). Every modern kitchen is able to produce great airline food as long as the supply (raw materials, investments, chefs, ideas) is right.

Happy New Year everyone!

Look forward to another interesting year in Turkish aviation.

Regarding Do&Co lets remember its a rather tiny company in the world of global inflight catering. Its total revenue was about EUR600mil in 2016 with EUR45mil profit. Since its in a 50/50 JV with Turkish it would need to match any equity TK makes and finding 100mil is not likely easy thing for Do&Co.

In comparison SATS which itself is small also had nearly USD$2Bil in airline catering revenue so it can likely better meet financial investments 50/50 with TK.

However at the end of the day I think any reasonable vendor can make high quality meals. Its more about having the right specifications and requirements for them to execute on.

stylo777 wrote:

Catering is in my experience not a matter of name, but rather the willingness of investment: the more you pay the more you getting in quality and quantity (in general). Every modern kitchen is able to produce great airline food as long as the supply (raw materials, investments, chefs, ideas) is right.

My experience too.

So there's a fair bit of information regarding TK's plans for the new airport in the press, but what about other carriers? AtlasGlobal, Pegasus and Onur - what are their plans for the new airport? Any insider info?

Any aircraft order predictions for these carriers?

aldrigsomandre wrote:

So there's a fair bit of information regarding TK's plans for the new airport in the press, but what about other carriers? AtlasGlobal, Pegasus and Onur - what are their plans for the new airport? Any insider info?

Any aircraft order predictions for these carriers?

-Pegasus have 42 each 320 NEO and 321NEOs on order.
-Atlas is going through some changes and I would not be surprised if they announce an order soon and be ready for the new airport.
-Onur is a mixed batch, not sure about them

TK increases 330-200/300 ops in Europe next summer according to routesonline:

Istanbul Ataturk – Amsterdam TK1957/1958 (A330 operation increases to 3 daily)
Istanbul Ataturk – Berlin Tegel TK1723/1724 (A330 operation increases to 2 daily)
Istanbul Ataturk – Bucharest TK1045/1046 (A330 operation increases to 2 daily)
Istanbul Ataturk – Copenhagen TK1783/1784
Istanbul Ataturk – Helsinki TK1761/1762
Istanbul Ataturk – Madrid TK1859/1860 (Overall 2 daily served by A330 in S18)
Istanbul Ataturk – Moscow Vnukovo TK415/416 (A330 operation increases to 2 daily)
Istanbul Ataturk – Oslo TK1751/1752
Istanbul Ataturk – Rome TK1861/1862
Istanbul Ataturk – Stockholm Arlanda TK1793/1794

Happy and Healthy New Year to Everyone, Thanks to TK787 as always for the thread and all the usual suspects who contribute to this thread hence helping curious ones like me.
Whats on the agenda for Turkish aviation this year? For me I'm curious to about these;
if TK will place another WB order? Maybe A350 order. I believe at the end TK will operate both 787 and 350.
The new airport? Will it open half a** to celebrate a birthday? The real opening I'm hoping would be complete with everything vital operating such as lounges etc
Atlas and Pegasus growth? I personally like flying Atlas, and Pegasus is a success story for sure, they are helping the Turkish aviation market grow

I have a question regarding the TK 787 order, has anyone seen the delivery schedule yet? Thanks

As a resident in Turkey, I had no chance to fly on a Dreamliner yet. Does anyone know which airlines fly which routes with a Dreamliner ? Dash 8 or 9 maybe ? Any airline flying A350 to Turkey ?

imthedreamliner wrote:

As a resident in Turkey, I had no chance to fly on a Dreamliner yet. Does anyone know which airlines fly which routes with a Dreamliner ? Dash 8 or 9 maybe ? Any airline flying A350 to Turkey ?

787 from/to IST: RJ to AMM, J2 to GYD, QR to DOH more frequently and EY to AUH and SV to RUH/JED less frequently
haven't seen the 350 in Turkey so far, but I might be wrong. Maybe QR?

TK787 wrote:

aldrigsomandre wrote:

So there's a fair bit of information regarding TK's plans for the new airport in the press, but what about other carriers? AtlasGlobal, Pegasus and Onur - what are their plans for the new airport? Any insider info?

Any aircraft order predictions for these carriers?

-Pegasus have 42 each 320 NEO and 321NEOs on order.
-Atlas is going through some changes and I would not be surprised if they announce an order soon and be ready for the new airport.
-Onur is a mixed batch, not sure about them

Didn't Atlas consider ordering the CSeries quite recently?
Well, it would definately fit their niche "boutique-style" of destination mix, but the new airport is all about moving masses in volumes. As economical as the CSeries probably are (purchase and running costs), the A320neo's are a better fit for KK.

As long as they concentrate on what kind of business they are really seeking after, everything will be quite alright for them.
Onur on the contrary is exactly NOT doing that thus the mixed batch character and lack of clear guidance/business targets. It atleast looks like that from the outside.

-gokmen, TK's 787 was not a confirmed order, it was a letter of Intent. I have my fingers crossed because the relations with US are lukewarm, to say the least. But after the 3x 77F order last week and (if I'm not mistaken the recent AMRAAM order for TAF), I am more hopeful, within months I imagine. This year I say we will see both 787/350 orders (again fingers crossed)
-stylo, Atlas' order of 10 x C series cancelled. They wanted to get 30 Airbus jets, last I heard. I will check again. Insider info; Atlas does not have concrete plans for the new airport yet. They will wait and see and move in 2019. They are concentrating on Russia and Kazakhstan from AYT and DLM for 2018 and might try to acquire few 330s.

stylo777 wrote:

imthedreamliner wrote:

As a resident in Turkey, I had no chance to fly on a Dreamliner yet. Does anyone know which airlines fly which routes with a Dreamliner ? Dash 8 or 9 maybe ? Any airline flying A350 to Turkey ?

787 from/to IST: RJ to AMM, J2 to GYD, QR to DOH more frequently and EY to AUH and SV to RUH/JED less frequently
haven't seen the 350 in Turkey so far, but I might be wrong. Maybe QR?

QR's 350's fly elsewhere, not to Turkey.

Pretty certain the AMRAAM order is pretty old, from 2014 or so? Don't think AMRAAM orders are anything special anyways.

Hopefully US-Turkey relations do get better tho.

1g wrote:

Pretty certain the AMRAAM order is pretty old, from 2014 or so? Don't think AMRAAM orders are anything special anyways.

Hopefully US-Turkey relations do get better tho.

You are correct. Ordered 2014 but just finalized to be delivered in 2020. A tiny order of $350M but still you can see how long it takes to finalize these orders. Anything helps IMHO to better the relations between two countries. 20 787-9s would be sweet though

I saw A340-500 that belongs to the Turkish Presidency. Never knew they had such amazing 4 holers in the state fleet.
how many aircrafts does the state own for VIP officials ? are all of them new or used by TK ?

UAEflyer wrote:

I saw A340-500 that belongs to the Turkish Presidency. Never knew they had such amazing 4 holers in the state fleet.
how many aircrafts does the state own for VIP officials ? are all of them new or used by TK ?

To my knowledge, there are several VIP aircraft, at least: 1 Gulfstream IV (reg. TC-ATA--which, if I remember correctly, was actually the aircraft that flew President Erdogan to Istanbul during the 2016 coup), 1 A319 (reg. TC-ANA), 1 A330-200 (TC-TUR), and the A340-500 (reg. TC-CAN) that you mention. I do not know the history of the other aircraft, but the A340-500 was actually originally built for Kingfisher Airlines India, which did not take delivery due to bankruptcy. It then made its way to the Tunisian VIP fleet, but I think some time in 2016 or 2017 was bought by Turkey instead.

imthedreamliner wrote:

As a resident in Turkey, I had no chance to fly on a Dreamliner yet. Does anyone know which airlines fly which routes with a Dreamliner ? Dash 8 or 9 maybe ? Any airline flying A350 to Turkey ?

We may see BA put them on IST at various periods after the B767 gets phased out later this year.

OA260 wrote:

imthedreamliner wrote:

As a resident in Turkey, I had no chance to fly on a Dreamliner yet. Does anyone know which airlines fly which routes with a Dreamliner ? Dash 8 or 9 maybe ? Any airline flying A350 to Turkey ?

We may see BA put them on IST at various periods after the B767 gets phased out later this year.

I flew BA 767's to LHR few times, however I doubt we will see the 787 fly to IST, as they are only flying 320's to IST anytime I checked them to see when TK's schedule didn't work for me.

gokmengs wrote:

OA260 wrote:

imthedreamliner wrote:

As a resident in Turkey, I had no chance to fly on a Dreamliner yet. Does anyone know which airlines fly which routes with a Dreamliner ? Dash 8 or 9 maybe ? Any airline flying A350 to Turkey ?

We may see BA put them on IST at various periods after the B767 gets phased out later this year.

I flew BA 767's to LHR few times, however I doubt we will see the 787 fly to IST, as they are only flying 320's to IST anytime I checked them to see when TK's schedule didn't work for me.

I think OA260 is correct. I have seen the news, BA is planning to use the 787 to IST route.

TK787 wrote:

gokmengs wrote:

OA260 wrote:

We may see BA put them on IST at various periods after the B767 gets phased out later this year.

I flew BA 767's to LHR few times, however I doubt we will see the 787 fly to IST, as they are only flying 320's to IST anytime I checked them to see when TK's schedule didn't work for me.

I think OA260 is correct. I have seen the news, BA is planning to use the 787 to IST route.

It's fascinating how BA is continuing to serve IST while many other European carriers are fleeing the airport.

Unfortunately, TC-JMI has been repainted (and probably has the new IFE installed). Now all A321s have the new livery. Shame as I loved the old one (though I like the new one too... JMI was unique too though).

globetrotter94 wrote:

UAEflyer wrote:

I saw A340-500 that belongs to the Turkish Presidency. Never knew they had such amazing 4 holers in the state fleet.
how many aircrafts does the state own for VIP officials ? are all of them new or used by TK ?

To my knowledge, there are several VIP aircraft, at least: 1 Gulfstream IV (reg. TC-ATA--which, if I remember correctly, was actually the aircraft that flew President Erdogan to Istanbul during the 2016 coup), 1 A319 (reg. TC-ANA), 1 A330-200 (TC-TUR), and the A340-500 (reg. TC-CAN) that you mention. I do not know the history of the other aircraft, but the A340-500 was actually originally built for Kingfisher Airlines India, which did not take delivery due to bankruptcy. It then made its way to the Tunisian VIP fleet, but I think some time in 2016 or 2017 was bought by Turkey instead.

I don’t believe it ever flew for Tunisia. At UN Week this year, the A345 and A332 arrived at JFK almost back to back and offloaded lined up that way. Is this flown by TK pilots? And speaking of the airline, when will the hajj A343s be retired now that they are fully paid off?

Vis a vis Pegasus...a while back, they began drawing down their 737 fleet beginning with a disposal/straight sale of some to Air Lease Corporation (I believe they also got the remainder of the Pegasus order book). Has Pegasus announced buyers for other 737s yet?

First 737MAX operator in Turkey will be Corendon Airlines with its first 737MAX-8 due arriving in May.

https://www.corendonairlines.com/en/b737max

aemoreira1981 wrote:

At UN Week this year, the A345 and A332 arrived at JFK almost back to back and offloaded lined up that way. Is this flown by TK pilots?

Yes, VIP fleet pilots are from TK. AFAIK, they only fly the VIP fleet once transferred.

TK787 wrote:

gokmengs wrote:

OA260 wrote:

We may see BA put them on IST at various periods after the B767 gets phased out later this year.

I flew BA 767's to LHR few times, however I doubt we will see the 787 fly to IST, as they are only flying 320's to IST anytime I checked them to see when TK's schedule didn't work for me.

I think OA260 is correct. I have seen the news, BA is planning to use the 787 to IST route.

Thats great news, would love to try them once, BA J fares out of IST are half of what TK is charging.

Latest TK targets for 2018:

"According to the non-consolidated 2018 budget that was approved by the Board of Directors, the guidance regarding the Incorporation's targets and expectations for the year 2018 is as follows:

Traffic Development

• Total number of passengers carried is targeted to reach 74 million including 33 million on domestic routes, 41 million on international routes.
• While passenger load factor is expected to be in the band of 79% and 80%, total Available Seat Kilometers (ASK) will approximately reach to 183 billion with an increase of between 5% and 6% compared to 2017. Capacity (ASK) increase is expected to be 10% in Turkey, 9% in Middle East, 6% in Europe, 6% in Far East, 4% in America and 3% in Africa regions.
• In 2018, cargo/mail carried is expected to increase by 21% reaching 1.3 million tonnes.

Financial Development (Unconsolidated)

• In 2018, jet fuel consumption is expected to increase by 9% compared to 2017.
• Average jet fuel (including fuel hedge) is expected to be 633$/ton in 2018.
• The Incorporation is targeting to generate 11.8 billion USD of sales revenue.
• Cost per available seat kilometer (CASK), excluding fuel is expected to increase by between 3%-5%.
• Unconsolidated EBITDAR margn is targeted to be between 21% and 22%, whereas consolidated EBITDAR margn is targeted to be in the band of 23% and 24%."

I look outside the window in NY and can not imagine JFK operations. I look at flightaware, actually flights are taking off, no landings.
Blowing snow, low visibility, gusting winds. Let's see where TK3 is going to up, estimated to land 3 hrs. from now.

KJFK weather now: (METAR meaning; to the best of my knowledge)
KJFK 041351Z 35028G38KT (todays date/winds from 350 degrees 28 knots, gusting to 38kt)
1/4SM (Visibility 1/4 statue miles)
R04R/1400V1800FT (Runway 4R visual range 1400-1800 feet)
SN BLSN FZFG (blowing snow, freeaing fog)
VV005 (vertical visibility 500 feet)
M05/M06 (temp. -5 to -6)
A2945 (Altimeter setting)
RMK AO2 PK WND 36038/1351 SLP971 SNINCR 1/2 P0002 T10501056

Edit: Wow!! Actually landings happening. An EVA 777 just landed. I'm sure it wasn't fun.

gokmengs wrote:

TK787 wrote:

gokmengs wrote:

I flew BA 767's to LHR few times, however I doubt we will see the 787 fly to IST, as they are only flying 320's to IST anytime I checked them to see when TK's schedule didn't work for me.

I think OA260 is correct. I have seen the news, BA is planning to use the 787 to IST route.

Thats great news, would love to try them once, BA J fares out of IST are half of what TK is charging.

BA's J class is absolutely horrible, not worth the money.

TK3 might be heading to IAD.

TK787 wrote:

TK3 might be heading to IAD.

Weather I’m assuming, its gonna be a mess for the whole northeast seems like:(

gokmengs wrote:

TK787 wrote:

TK3 might be heading to IAD.

Weather I’m assuming, its gonna be a mess for the whole northeast seems like:(

Yes weather, TK3 still at IAD. And I think TK1, just diverted to EWR.
I wonder if they can let the pax go at EWR, or wait and fly them to JFK when things calm down later tomorrow.
And the other question, crew timed out maybe?? Who flies the plane EWR-JFK??

Happy New Year to all!
Today marks the day TK will sign an order with Airbus on A350-900 in Paris, order is speculated to be for 25-40 aircraft.

Happy New Year for everybody and thank you TK787 for the new Thread

TheKacaman wrote:

Happy New Year to all!
Today marks the day TK will sign an order with Airbus on A350-900 in Paris, order is speculated to be for 25-40 aircraft.

You beat me to it!

Today Turkish President will visit France.
I was sure for a A350 order. I wonder if they also order A330neos.
Seems the dispute with USA will not calm very soon, and how the conditions for the 787-LOI are. If they will be on hold or canceld at all, 330neos might be an option, or some leased 330ceos.

Last week Bilal Ekşi spoke to introduce new WB at the new Airport in 2019.
TK should fix both orders very soon than?

Remeber back in September after the 787 LOI TK stated it continued to look at A350s and some members like LAXIntl also here stated they would get the A350 as well.
Does not seem strange as there is growing number of operators that utilize both fleet types side by side, so TK can join the group.

mercure1 wrote:

Remeber back in September after the 787 LOI TK stated it continued to look at A350s and some members like LAXIntl also here stated they would get the A350 as well.
Does not seem strange as there is growing number of operators that utilize both fleet types side by side, so TK can join the group.

Bigger question is, how likely is it that they receive A350 or B787 in 2019??
I can imagine, even for A330neos it will be hard.

TheKacaman wrote:

Happy New Year to all!
Today marks the day TK will sign an order with Airbus on A350-900 in Paris, order is speculated to be for 25-40 aircraft.

I hope they'll get the ULR version for non-stop Australian flights as well.
It'd be nice to use TK all the way to Europe.

Tkfan wrote:

mercure1 wrote:

Remeber back in September after the 787 LOI TK stated it continued to look at A350s and some members like LAXIntl also here stated they would get the A350 as well.
Does not seem strange as there is growing number of operators that utilize both fleet types side by side, so TK can join the group.

Bigger question is, how likely is it that they receive A350 or B787 in 2019??
I can imagine, even for A330neos it will be hard.

First time poster to this series, interest in the rumoured A350 order brought me here. Thanks Tkfan!

If getting new WBs in 2019 is important, could TK feasibly get any A330neos from lessors? I don't see where the slots would come from for a 787 or A350 order. I agree with the above, the A330neo is a bit of a dream, but I hope they order it, it would be a big statement for the A330neo that such a prolific A330 user bought it. TK are the type that can make mixed fleets work, so I expect to see the 777X in the future.

Well the TK 787 LOI stated deliveries were planned 2019-2023 so Boeing clearly has spots

https://centreforaviation.com/insights/ ... ght-372754

Wow. Congrats to TK and Airbus. I always knew they would operate both 787 and 350, TK FF’s are so lucky to have this variety (us aviation geeks at least) This order will start the discussion again about the 787 order not being firmed up on anet, but i believe no matter what TK will firm up the 787 order.
I hope someone will start a thread about the order.

Happy new year to all and thanks to TK787 for another thread.

Everybody on TVs this morning is talking about the surprise potential 350 order during visit of our president to France. But the real surprise may be an order of A380 subfleet. Lets wait and see.

If the article below is correct, TK and Airbus are about to sign a deal for 25 A350s today.

http://www.airkule.com/haber/THY-A350-9 ... ACAK/29268

KarelXWB wrote:

If the article below is correct, TK and Airbus are about to sign a deal for 25 A350s today.

http://www.airkule.com/haber/THY-A350-9 ... ACAK/29268

Karel or TK787 do the honors and start a thread please, although it would be ironic if TK787 started the TK buying A350 thread:))))

gokmengs wrote:

KarelXWB wrote:

If the article below is correct, TK and Airbus are about to sign a deal for 25 A350s today.

http://www.airkule.com/haber/THY-A350-9 ... ACAK/29268

Karel or TK787 do the honors and start a thread please, although it would be ironic if TK787 started the TK buying A350 thread:))))

Ha ha ha.... It can't be me.
But I would like to congratulate my best friend "TK350", that joined a.net 11 years ago. He is a lurker here but we talk about everything aviation all the time

Many questions I have:
-787-900 vs. 350-900, what routes do they get deployed mainly?
-Seat Plans for both; Business 2-2-2 or different, Economy 2-4-2, 3-3-3 ?? Both might average out 28-32 J/ 270-285Y, what do you think?
-This covers TK's long and thin route fleet, what comes after 77W for trunk routes?