Turkish Airlines Gets Down To Business

Turkish Airlines will increase the number of Business Class passengers it can carry on its Toronto-Istanbul flights, with the carrier revamping the number of Business Class seats on its B777-300ER plans as of April 24.

The airline – which has six direct Toronto-Istanbul flights a week and three a week between Montreal and Istanbul – will increase the number of Business Class seats on its B777-300ERs from 28 to 49, and hopes that will help it tap into the corporate travel market in Ontario.

The airline earlier this year hired airline industry veteran David Batey as a Toronto regional corporate sales manager, another effort to reach out to corporate travellers.

“The corporate community is not fully aware of what our offerings are,” Batey told an April 21 Toronto gathering showcasing the Business Class service. “We do a really world-class job.”

Batey said Turkish Airlines’ Business Class service is comparable to Air Canada’s Business Class. Air Canada also has Toronto-Istanbul service and like Turkish Airlines is a Star Alliance member.

Turkish Airlines Business Class seats measure 75 inches when fully reclining and Business Class passengers have access to an on-board power receptacle, a reading light and deployable privacy screens.
Business Class on medium- and long-haul routes features the airline’s “Flying Chefs,” who serve Western and Turkish meals on porcelain dishes.

Batey noted that Turkish Airlines has a “mind-blowing” 5,900-square-metre lounge in Istanbul. “Our lounge is larger than some airports.”

Zafer Bolukbasi, Turkish Airlines general manager in Toronto, said Turkey hosts some 40 million tourists a year and he expects the country to make further inroads in the Canadian market because of Turkey deciding to open a tourist office in Toronto.

Turkey sees large numbers of beach-goers and history enthusiasts, with Bolukbasi noting that his hometown of Istanbul is “like a cradle of civilizations,” among other things having been the capital of the Ottoman Empire and the Byzantine Civilization.

Those departing from Montreal or Toronto and wanting to continue beyond Istanbul can easily do so, with Turkish Airlines serving some115 countries, more than any other airline in the world.

Pictured are Ilker Karatas, Turkish Airlines sales manager in Toronto, Batey and Bolukbasi.