Soaring to Success
For Turkish Airlines Philippines’ Country Manager Erhan Balaban, staying in the lead involves constant innovation for total customer satisfaction
In an increasingly competitive field, what gives an airline a distinct advantage over its peers?
If you ask Erhan Balaban, country manager for Turkish Airlines in the Philippines, it’s all about innovation and constant improvement in the service of a loyal customer base.
“We give importance to our products and services in terms of our in-flight entertainment system, awardwinning catering services, and other features of our business and economy class seats,” he says. “We offer the highest level of comfort for both our business and economy passengers.”
Ever since Balaban took on the helm as Philippine country manager a little over four years ago, Turkish Airlines has been helping Filipino travellers broaden their horizons by opening doors to over 300 destinations in 122 countries worldwide. Both on the ground and in the air, it is an airline that constantly strives to offer the best possible travel experience through exceptional cuisine, sublime comfort in both lounges and cabins, and the addition of modern amenities such as power sockets and USB hubs for charging mobile devices. But Balaban believes in going beyond these.
“We make sure that every passenger’s flight is a special experience,” he says, and adds that travellers can look forward to even bigger—and better—changes soon. “We will be launching new routes from Istanbul to destinations like Marrakech and Bali next year. New A350s and Dreamliner planes are also joining our fleet. This means [an increase in] operations, as well as a wider flight network for our passengers.”
Keeping all these in mind, Turkish Airlines is well on its way towards its goal of becoming the Philippines’ European carrier of choice.