Turkish Airlines is on a course of growth and has some ambitious targets in place, Emre Ismailoglu, general manager for Turkish Airlines in Dubai, tells TTN. Excerpts of the exclusive interview...
How did Turkish Airlines fare last year?Last year was a good year for us. Our numbers increased for Dubai as well as for all of Turkish Airlines. We launched a number of new destinations.From January to May 2015 our passenger traffic in the UAE, Qatar, and Kuwait increased by 6.44 and revenue per passenger kilometre (RPK) increased by 6.7 per cent. For the fourth year in a row, we have won the Best Airline in Europe from the Skytrax World Airline Awards and Turkish Airlines flies to over 108 countries.Will there be any plans for route enhancements, codeshares or frequency changes?We already have two flights daily from Dubai and four flights weekly from Abu Dhabi. We do add additional flights for the peak holiday season. In 2014, we changed to a wide body aircraft which means that our total passenger number from Dubai increased nearly 9 per cent. Business from the comfort class passenger increased nearly 16.8 per cent.
What will be your strategy for the GCC, and in particular the UAE. Can you also comment on the Saudi market?Although I am not responsible for the Saudi market, I can say that we are growing in this market and with flights from Dammam, Madinah, Jeddah, Riyadh – literally from every major city. For the UAE, for 2015, our strategy will be to change the perception of Turkish Airlines. 'We are not a low-cost carrier. We will organise some events, especially for our business class product as it is a very good product for a responsible cost.Our overall fleet for the airline is growing. We will have delivery of 244 new aircraft – narrow body, wide body, and cargo.Do you have projections for 2015?I am confident we will perform better in 2015. Dubai is one of Turkish Airlines’ important destinations and our target is very high.
You have added a 10th North American destination (Montreal), how important is UAE, Qatar and Kuwait to the America-bound flights?It is very important for Turkish Airlines and especially from these regions as there are a lot of people travelling to the Americas for studying, working, holidays, but also we are growing outbound market from the Americas. We are adding new destinations, increasing our frequency. For example, we are flying three times a day to JFK all new-generation aircraft so I can say 2015 will show growth from the Americas - both inbound and outbound.
Are travel agents still important Turkish Airlines? In this part of the world it is still very important to maintain our relationship with travel agents. More than 80 per cent of our customers are still buying through agents, whereas in Europe and US this is not the trend, but here, it is still very much driven by a cultural and personal interaction. Turkish Airlines representatives will be available at stand number EU5710.
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Agents pose with their awards at the ceremony |
The event, held at Khalidiya Palace hotel by Rotana, recognised partners for their continual support and contribution to driving not only the growth in passenger traffic from the emirate, but also contributing to the 6.44 per cent total passenger growth in GCC markets compared to the previous year.
Adem Ceylan, vice president marketing and sales for Turkish Airlines, Middle East & Cyprus, said: “We are grateful to our partners who ensure we get closer to our customers and meet their evolving travel demands. Travellers from Abu Dhabi, and across the region, are increasingly using Istanbul as a hub for international travel, taking advantage of the connections offered to more countries that any other airlines in the world.”***************************************************************************************************************************