TURKISH TO INCREASE EUROPEAN CONNECTIVITY COME SUMMER SCHEDULE
Turkish Airlines, covering East Africa with flights to Entebbe, Kigali, Nairobi, Mombasa, Dar es Salaam and Kilimanjaro – and as such being the foreign airline with the most East African destination airports – has just announced the expansion of the European network services, once the summer schedule comes into effect.
Effective on 31st of March key destinations across Europe will move to as many as four flights a day, giving passengers from East Africa multiple choices to reach a final destination and perhaps taking advantage of the airline’s stop over options for a quick visit into Istanbul, a city which history reaches back into pre-Roman days.
Unlike other airlines, as previously reported here, THY seems intent to offer greater choices as it expands further into Africa, where it intends to serve 40 destinations by the end of this year. ‘Like you said this airline has almost come by stealth and few people still know that they are dealing with a global airline which reaches more destinations from Istanbul than any other single airline. They now cover every important airport in East Africa apart from Bujumbura and Zanzibar, and that makes them a prime airline for East Africans. No more travelling to Nairobi or Dar to connect, but really from your own doorstep. Turkish has become a real factor now in aviation and even if the Emirates and Qatars are bigger in PR and promotions maybe, Turkish has become their big rival. And they are also in Star, so that is an added advantage’ said a regular travel agency contact from Kampala in the evening, when trying to get some feedback on the news of the new summer schedule announcements for Europe.
A new airport under construction will be the home hub for Turkish when ready around 2016 and further aid the airline in their aim to eventually operate a fleet of up to 400 aircraft. Founded some 78 years ago Turkish also flies to some 40 destinations across Turkey itself and over 160 destinations worldwide, over 30 of which are in Africa.
Watch this space for regular and breaking aviation news with relevance to Eastern Africa and the Indian Ocean islands.
