RIYADH: Turkish Airlines, which operates flights from Riyadh, Jeddah and Madinah to Turkey on a daily basis has been cited as a “model” for success and comfortable services. The airline has been called a successful model by the Association of European Airways (AEA) at a time when many major players in European aviation have been losing ground.
Guran Korkmaz, director of Turkish Airlines (THY) for Central and Eastern Regions said, “With its young fleet, superior service and unique hospitality, THY operates two flights daily from Jeddah, daily flights from Madinah and Riyadh to Istanbul.” THY, which is a member of the Star Alliance currently flies to more than 960 destinations, he added. THY traffic rose to 6.9 million during January-April this year compared to 6.3 million during the same period last year.
“One of the fastest growing airlines in the world, THY holds a strategic position between East and West,” said Guran, adding that the airline had won ‘SkyTrax Award’ for the ‘Best Airline in Southern Europe’ on April 2, 2009. It also achieved a great success by winning the “SkyTrax World Aviation Award 2009” known as the Oscar of Aviation industry. The THY has also won Airbus award for “Top Operational Excellence” of its A320 fleet, in recognition of its service record last week. At the moment, this airline has in its fleet A340-300, A330, A321, A320, A319, B737-400, B737-800, B777 ER.
Asked about plans to increase the frequency of flights, Guran said that the number of flights had already been increased with the beginning of the summer schedule on March 28. “The majority of people coming from Saudi Arabia to Turkey prefer Istanbul because of its historical and tourist sites,” said the THY regional director. Izmir is also popular with Saudi tourists, he added. He pointed out that Trabzon, the eastern Black Sea city, was also very popular with Saudi tourists because of its greenery and cool weather during summer. “With THY’s fleet exceeding 130 aircraft, it carries hundreds of thousands of passengers annually,” said Guran. Asked about plans to introduce changes in the routes or on-board facilities, he said: “We are constantly trying to upgrade the standard of our services for our customers. Customer satisfaction is most important for us,” said Guran. Referring to the growth of Turkish Airlines, he said that Turkey’s national flag carrier was founded in Ankara on May 20, 1933 under the name of “State Airlines Administration.” In 1955, the airline was restructured as “Turkish Airlines.” It opened 24 new routes in 2006, and joined Star Alliance in April, 2008. “Turkish Airlines offers passengers the opportunity to reach 160 countries and 916 airports,” said Guran. “In order to keep alive its brand equity, which is a serious advantage Turkish Airlines focuses on the investments that support its brand equity such as offering quality entertainment systems on-board the aircraft and comfortable seats,” he said. He added that THY followed technological innovations and, with its growing fleet, supported the training of its employees.
Turkish Airlines regards flight safety and service quality as two indispensable components of success, said the regional director.
