Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Istanbul a direct trip away
Capetonians can win an adventure to Turkey
TURKISH Airlines had a fully booked flight for its maiden direct trip from Cape Town to Istanbul this week, and the European national carrier is not stopping there.
The airline announced its big expansion plans at its Cape Town route launch this week, which include opening additional direct flight routes to Durban, Maputo, Mauritius and Madagascar.
The route expansion will see Istanbul move ahead of Frankfurt to become Europe’s third busiest airport by next year.
Turkish Airlines Cape Town general manager Kenan Ince said at the launch that Istanbul’s location made it perfect to position the city as “a global hub of air travel”.
Turkish ambassador to South Africa Kaan Esener said the country was making travel to Turkey for South Africans very easy.
“Your visa can be issued on arrival, or you can do it online,” he said.
Ince said Turkish Airlines had been flying to Joburg since 2007 and this week’s flight marked the first direct flight to Cape Town.
“This first flight was fully booked... Istanbul is between Asia and Africa. We looked at this years ago. In Europe we are the fourth busiest airport. Next year, we will be ahead of Frankfurt. By 2020, we will be ahead of London.”
He said the route was important because of the absence of direct flights out of Nordic Europe. The airline envisaged it could also become a North American passage via Istanbul.
To remain competitive, it has increased its seat supply for summer by 100 percent, including offering reduced rates.
Meanwhile, to celebrate the new route launch, the airline has devised a give-away that will see three couples jet off to Turkey on Saturday, November 14.
The #TurkishTakeOff will take place at the V&A Waterfront from 10am.
Entrants should pack their bags and passports, organise their lives ahead of time, then attend the draw. The winners and their partners will leave straight from the Waterfront for the airport in a limousine to begin their Turkish journey.
“We wanted something different for our Cape Town route launch. We wanted something adventurous, not boring. Entrants should bring their luggage and their passports, and by 3pm they could be leav- ing for their adventure.”
Expansion to a Durban route is being timed to create adequate air travel ahead of the 2022 Commonwealth Games. “We have been studying Durban for a while and following the numbers. Emirates was the only direct route to Durban. We wanted to open our route before the Commonwealth Games.”
That route will launch on November 5. The Maputo route kicked off on Wednesday, with the Madagascar and Mauritius routes set to begin in midDecember or January.