Our national carrier, Turkish Airlines (THY), has reached an important point in its global development. The company is aiming for the top, winning award after award, and signing significant aircraft orders. However, the key to reaching the summit undoubtedly lies in populous countries that are promising the future of aviation, such as China and India.
THY’s main competitors in this region are Emirates and Qatar Airways. Although long-haul aircraft will soon become more common, flights with stopovers will remain important. The appeal of Doha, Dubai, and Istanbul, all central hubs in the world, will never fade. For this reason, THY’s most important competitors in China and India will remain the same.
If THY expands its flight network to these two countries, it will become the number one in the world. Then neither Emirates nor Qatar Airways will be competitors.
Aviation experts analyze that India and China will be leaders in the aviation sector by 2040. These two countries are also making significant investments in aviation. We need to invest in this region as well.
There Is Not Much Difference with Competitors in China
Currently, THY flies from its hub at Istanbul Airport (IGA) to Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou in China. It has also announced that it will begin flights to Chengdu on weekdays.
Emirates started flying to China in 2004 and currently operates daily flights to Shanghai, with 35 weekly flights to this city alone. The airline also flies daily to Beijing and Guangzhou. This year, Emirates began flights to Shenzhen and Hangzhou as well.
Qatar Airways operates flights in China to Beijing’s Capital and Daxing airports, Hangzhou, Guangzhou, and Shanghai.
We Are Far Behind in India
THY flies from Istanbul to Mumbai and Delhi. There are also flights from Ankara to Delhi and from Antalya to Mumbai.
Emirates began flights to India in 1985. The commercial relations between the UAE and India have strengthened the air bridge between these countries. Emirates operates flights to nine cities in India, with a total of 167 weekly flights. The airline flies daily to Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai, and Thiruvananthapuram.
Qatar Airways operates daily flights to 13 cities in India: Nagpur, Goa, Delhi, Hyderabad, Thiruvananthapuram, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata, Amritsar, Kochi, Kozhikode, and Mumbai.
Undoubtedly, launching flights to these two countries is not solely in the hands of Turkish Airlines’ management. It is linked to agreements made between governments. Some historical or current political tensions also make it difficult to operate flights to certain countries.
Our opposition to China’s oppression of the Uyghur Turks in East Turkistan and India’s attacks on our friendly country Pakistan, are among the reasons complicating the expansion of this air bridge.