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Skift
26-06-2025
- Business
- Skift
Turkish Airlines Chairman on Soft Power, Fleet Growth, and the 2033 Vision
Turkish Airlines isn't just building an airline – it's building influence. Ahead of its centenary in 2033, the carrier is refining its soft power playbook. Leaders of Travel: Skift C-Suite Series What are the top trends impacting hotels, airlines, and online bookings? We speak to the executives shaping the future of travel. What are the top trends impacting hotels, airlines, and online bookings? We speak to the executives shaping the future of travel. Learn More Turkish Airlines has long styled itself as more than just a flag carrier. As the company approaches its 100th anniversary in 2033, it is doubling down on a strategy that prioritizes cultural diplomacy as much as cash flow. The airline, 49% owned by Turkey's sovereign wealth fund, has made no secret of its global ambitions. It already flies to more countries than any other airline, but it isn't stopping there. 'We aim to reach a fleet of over 810 aircraft by 2033,' Chairman Ahmet Bolat told Skift. If realized, this would build upon the 480 planes the company operates today. A massive order of up to 350 aircraft from Airbus, announced in December 2023, is one of the centerpieces of this expansion. Yet Bolat's broader message isn't growth for growth's sake. Despite its lofty 2033 goals, the airline is actually dialing down its growth trajectory. 'We are not going to grow as we did before. In the past, we grew around 13% [annually]. Now our growth rate is reduced to 7-8%. So it will not be 10 [new] cities per year. In the next decade, we're looking at maybe around 30 or 35 new cities in total.' Bolat said expansion will also be fueled by enhanced frequencies to existing destinations to make transit times even more efficient. Its Istanbul hub — opened in 2018 and designed to eventually serve 200 million passengers annually — is key to the airline's vision. He highlighted Asia as a particular focus, with a second bank of daily departures under development. Last year, Turkey and China signed a new deal that more than doubles the number of flights allowed between the countries. With the agreement, scheduled passenger flights jump from 21 to 49 per week, plus Turkish Airlines secures rights to operate flights to three additional Chinese cities: Chengdu, Urumqi, and Xi'an. While China's 49 flights are spread across its major carriers including Air China, China Eastern, and China Southern, as Turkey's only major long-haul operator, Turkish Airlines can enjoy the increase for itself. Culture as a Catalyst Bolat is bullish on what he terms 'cultural tourism' – part diplomatic mission, part economic bet on high-spending travelers – and there's a hit-list already lined up. Ahmet Bolat joined Turkish Airlines in 2005. credit: turkish airlines 'We are specifically interested in 11 markets. Some of them are in Asia: Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Korea, and others are in the West: Canada, Mexico, and the United States,' he said. The ultimate goal is to bring 15 million visitors to Turkey on cultural tourism trips. These well-heeled travelers won't just be passengers for the national airline but also boost the Turkish economy through spending on the ground. Bolat also mentioned France, Spain, and Italy as focus markets for what he describes as 'cultural tourism exchanges.' It forms part of a broader trend, widely adopted by Turkish Airlines' global rivals, to encourage passengers to spend time in the destination during their transit. It's a 10-hour flight from Istanbul to New York – but distance hasn't hindered the airline's expansion in the United States. The company serves 14 destinations across the U.S., most with daily or double daily frequencies. 'We didn't see much softness like the others faced,' Bolat said when asked about a possible slowdown in demand. 'The U.S. is still our largest market. Last year 1.7 million Americans came to Turkey. Not all on aircraft, some were on cruises and so on, but our goal is to raise this to 5 million.' 2 Cities For The Price of 1: Portugal Turns Stopover Passengers into Tourists TAP Air Portugal is one of a growing list of airlines encouraging transit passengers to explore the country during a long-haul layover. New figures show tens of thousands of travelers took the company up on its offer last year. Read More Fleet in Focus The Turkish Airlines group spans more than a dozen subsidiaries, including maintenance, cabin interiors, cargo, and catering businesses. Despite its pride in doing as much in-house work as possible, some areas remain outside its control. 'The main issue is delays from the manufacturers. Day by day they are informing us of new delays,' said Bolat. To mitigate some of the disruption, the airline has been active in securing leased aircraft. Just last week, it confirmed 14 A321neo planes are bound for its low-cost carrier A-Jet. Bolat said the company will continue to work with lessors to bridge the gap amid delivery delays. With post-pandemic pilot shortages easing, he also confirmed that regional jets remain under consideration, with around 30 aircraft in the pipeline. But what about the inside of the plane? Speaking to Skift last year, Bolat ruled out the introduction of a premium economy cabin. Carriers including Emirates, Korean Air, Finnair, and KLM have all installed this mid-tier option in recent years. The airline has also resisted the temptation to join its international peers in reintroducing first class – with Qatar Airways and Etihad among those doubling down on the concept. This leaves Turkish with a two-class configuration across its global fleet. Operationally simple yes, but is this a missed opportunity? Focused on the two-class strategy, Bolat reported the best business class load factor – an aircraft's average occupancy – in the airline's history. 'I can tell you it is above 60 and close to 70%.' For context, business class load factors at Turkish Airlines have increased almost 10 percentage points from the pre-pandemic levels. This matters because premium travelers typically bring in three or four times the revenue as an economy passenger. Central to this premium ramp-up is a new business class seat called the Crystal Suite. Asked for a progress update on the project, Bolat said it should be in the air next year. The carrier's Airbus A350s will be the first to be equipped with the next-generation offering, with late 2026 the current target. The goal is to have Crystal across all widebody aircraft within three years. This will mean the end of the unpopular 2-3-2 configuration to a more spacious 1-2-1 layout. Narrowbody jets are also getting an upgrade. New 'Royalux' seats, designed by subsidiary Turkish Cabin Industries, should boost comfort for business class travelers on single-aisle jets. 'We're committed to quality at every level,' said Bolat. The carrier is betting that influence and revenue can, and will, rise together. What am I looking at? The performance of airline sector stocks within the ST200. The index includes companies publicly traded across global markets including network carriers, low-cost carriers, and other related companies. The Skift Travel 200 (ST200) combines the financial performance of nearly 200 travel companies worth more than a trillion dollars into a single number. See more airlines sector financial performance. Read the full methodology behind the Skift Travel 200.
Skift
09-06-2025
- Business
- Skift
Breeze CEO on Low-Cost Carriers' Future and 'The Piss-Off Factor' Keeping Tourists Away
The drop in interest in traveling to the U.S. is real, and it very well may fade as Breeze's CEO says. But repairing the brand damage will take time. As the U.S. airline industry faces growing economic uncertainty and negative travel sentiment, serial airline entrepreneur David Neeleman thinks the phase will pass. The Breeze Airways CEO also has thoughts on reforming the ultra-low-cost model, one that United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby recently declared was 'dead.' Skift spoke with Neeleman in a wide-ranging interview about the state of ultra-low-cost carriers, tariffs, and the Trump administration's travel policies. Here are four takeaways: Is the Ultra-Low-Cost Model Actually Dead? Kirby commented on the state of ultra-low-cost carriers during a Wall Street Journal event in May, also saying that 'the model was screwed.' Neeleman said he thought Kirby 'makes a really good point.' 'I don't think they're gone for good, but I do think they got really big,' he said. 'And not only from the number of planes, but the size of their planes, which kind of force them into hubs and force them to compete wing tip-to-wing tip with the big incumbent carriers.' He added that the rise of basic economy allowed legacy carriers like American, Delta, and United to compete more effectively with ultra-low-cos
Bloomberg
25-05-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
In Qatar, CFOs Talk Regional Risks and Opportunities
Newsletter CFO Briefing Executives focus on rising costs, consumer spending and the dollar. Plus, Qatar Airways' Duncan Naysmith talks about the airline's latest plane purchases and the benefits of lower oil prices. By Save Welcome to CFO Briefing, a newsletter devoted to corporate finance and what leaders need to know. This week, I report from Qatar, where I spoke to finance chiefs about the risks they're seeing in the region. I also connected with the CFO of Qatar Airways. But first, here are some other stories that caught my eye:
CBS News
21-05-2025
- CBS News
Southwest Airlines to require portable chargers be kept out while in use due to battery fire concerns
Passengers on Southwest Airlines flights will soon be required to keep their portable chargers in plain sight while using them due to concerns about the growing number of lithium-ion battery fires in a new policy that other airlines may adopt. The Dallas-based airline announced the new policy that will go into effect on May 28 and said passengers may have already seen notifications about the rule when using the airline's app. There is growing concern about lithium-ion battery fires on planes because the number of incidents continues to grow yearly, and devices powered by those batteries are ubiquitous. There have already been 19 incidents involving the batteries this year, following last year's record high of 89, according to Federal Aviation Administration statistics. The incidents have more than doubled since the pandemic-era low of 39 in 2020, and have climbed annually. Some research suggests that portable chargers might be the second-leading cause of battery fires on planes, only behind electronic cigarettes. Compared to the roughly 180,000 flights U.S. airlines operate each week, the number of incidents is still relatively small and lithium batteries can overheat anywhere. However, it is a growing concern for the airlines. "It's definitely a serious risk," said David Wroth, who studies the risks for UL Standards & Engagement and works with 37 airlines and battery manufacturers to minimize them. At least a couple of airlines UL is working with are reevaluating the risks associated with rechargeable batteries, so additional rule changes could be coming. Asian airlines enforce same rule While Southwest is the first U.S. airline to restrict the use of portable lithium-ion chargers, several Asian airlines took action earlier this year after a devastating fire aboard an Air Busan plane waiting to take off from an airport in South Korea in January. In the Korean airline fire in January, all 176 people aboard the plane had to be evacuated because the blaze burned through the plane's roof. The cause of that fire hasn't been officially determined, but several airlines and Korean regulators took action against portable chargers afterward. Korean airlines won't allow the chargers to be stored in overhead bins anymore; they must either be packed in a plastic bag or have their ports covered with insulating tape to keep them from touching metal. In addition, Singapore Airlines and Thai Airways both prohibit the use or charging of portable power banks at all during flights. Officials want passengers to be responsible about packing Last summer, a smoking laptop in a passenger's bag led to the evacuation of a plane awaiting takeoff at San Francisco International Airport. In 2023, a flight from Dallas to Orlando, Florida, made an emergency landing in Jacksonville, Florida, after a battery caught fire in an overhead bin. Southwest said that requiring these chargers to be kept out in the open when they are being used will help because "in the rare event a lithium battery overheats or catches fire, quick access is critical and keeping power banks in plain sight allow for faster intervention and helps protect everyone onboard." Experts have long recommended keeping rechargeable devices in reach during flights so they can be monitored for any signs of problems like becoming too hot to touch or starting to bulge or smoke. But the airlines have to rely on educating consumers and encouraging them to take precautions. "Ultimately, it comes down to a lot of personal responsibility that we as passengers have to take," Wroth said. Southwest will allow the chargers to be stored inside carry-on bags when they aren't in use. But a spokeswoman said the airline is just alerting customers about the policy before their flight and asking for their compliance. Wroth said that approach is probably best. "We have enough problems with unruly passengers already. And having cabin crew confront somebody over bringing something on board is not likely to be a good situation as well," Wroth said. The Transportation Security Administration has long prohibited e-cigarettes and chargers and power banks with lithium-ion batteries in checked bags, but allows them in carry-on bags. The rule exists precisely because fires in the cargo hold might be harder to detect and extinguish. The FAA recommends passengers keep cell phones and other devices nearby on planes so they can access them quickly. The agency said flight crews are trained to recognize and respond to lithium battery fires. Passengers should notify the flight crew immediately if their lithium battery or device is overheating, expanding, smoking or burning. The latest research from UL Standards & Engagement said that data from 2024 suggests that portable chargers were to blame in 19% of the incidents, though that was only slightly ahead of the number of cell phone incidents. E-cigarettes accounted for 28% of the problems. Nearly one-third of all passengers carried portable chargers on flights last year. More than one-quarter of passengers surveyed last year said they put vaping cigarettes and portable chargers in checked bags. That is against federal rules, but Wroth said it might be as much an issue of them not understanding the dangers as much as it is passengers trying to hide the devices.
Travel Weekly
21-05-2025
- Business
- Travel Weekly
Hawaiian implements no-show policy aligned with Alaska Airlines
Hawaiian Airlines is getting tough on no-show flyers. As of May 15, Hawaiian is voiding the remainder of the itinerary and canceling all potential flight credits for flyers holding nonrefundable tickets who don't notify the airline before failing to board their confirmed flight. Hawaiian, now part of the Alaska Airlines Group, previously did not have a no-show policy. In a statement, the carrier said the change aligns its policy with the Alaska brand. "In addition to providing a more consistent travel experience to our guests, a shared no-show policy helps us manage resources more efficiently and discourage travelers from booking flights they will not use, as no-shows can negatively impact guests who have a more urgent need for travel," the airline said in an emailed statement. Hawaiian said customers should proactively make changes to nonrefundable tickets. Flyers holding refundable tickets should check their fare agreements to determine if the no-show policy applies to them, the Hawaiian website says. Both the Alaska and Hawaiian websites note that they won't be entirely rigid if customers miss a flight on the run. The Alaska website notes that there is short grace period designed to accommodate customers who are running late and call right after departure time. Hawaiian says that customers who are already in the airport when their flight departs can see a customer service agent for assistance. "We understand life happens," the website says.
