Fleet expansion on the cards
Emre Ismailoglu, General Manager for Dubai and the Northern Emirates, Turkish Airlines, reveals that the airline plans to target new destinations, both short and long haul, to boost its global connect.
Q What strategies do you employ to attract more tourists to fly with you?
Our singularity lies in our service, our distinct personality and our culture of Turkish hospitality. Furthermore, we have a very strong network, which has made us the airline with the largest number of international destinations in the world. Turkish Airlines flies to more countries than any other airline today – 115 to be precise. Istanbul is Europe’s most eastern and southern point and our strategic geographic location also tends to work in our favour making us a natural choice for those flying from East to West and vice-versa.
If we want to grow and be more profitable we also need to expand our fleet so we are looking to add more aircraft and start targeting new destinations, both short and long haul, for we want to connect every corner of the globe to our hub in Istanbul.
Q Why should UAE/ GCC nationals fly with Turkish Airlines to summer destinations of their choice?
We fly to more countries in the world than any other airline, and this in itself, often makes us a natural choice for tourists looking to visit destinations from Berlin to Atlanta. Today, Turkish Airlines is also committed to connecting the world to fast-growing regions like Africa, where we also fly to the most number of destinations of any international airline. So should you wish to go on a safari in Africa, should you wish to go to a great historic city like Rome, or should you wish to explore exciting cities in the US like Miami, and New York, we can be the natural choice. Our service is excellent, our network is large and our prices are always competitive.
Q How is the response to your loyalty programme? Do you see an increase in numbers and what are the general expectations?
Turkish Airlines’ loyalty programme, Miles & Smiles, has been doing well and the number of travellers who are part of the programme is growing. We like to maintain a competitive advantage over other airlines by being a customeroriented airline committed to the highest standard of services; whether through the comfort of our aircraft seats or the excellence of our catering, and those who fly with us regularly are aware of this and already belong to our loyalty programme.
If we want to be more profitable we need to expand our fleet, so we are looking to add more aircraft and target new destinations, both short and long haul for we want to connect every corner of the globe to Istanbul