Turkish Airlines opened a new sales and operations office in Buckhead Thursday as part of a broader plan to provide more hands-on service in the Atlanta market, where it flies five days per week from Istanbul.
“As the latest destination of Turkish Airlines in the U.S., one of our major goals is to increase our visibility and brand awareness in the Atlanta market,” General Manager Umit Develi told a crowd of business and community leaders assembled to celebrate over cake and Turkish food.
Mr. Develi said the airline is deepening its community ties now that the health of the route is well established.
“It is obviously a main target for an airline to make profit from its operations,” Mr. Develi said. “On the other hand, the Turkish Airlines Atlanta team has also major goals such as to set up strong partnerships, provide perfect service and create the best customer satisfaction strategy, which are as important as making revenue. Now we believe that we are getting closer to achieving our targets with our new office.”
Newly optimistic officials said the airline is turning the corner after facing serious headwinds in the two years since it made Atlanta its ninth nonstop destination in the U.S.
Challenges to the flight’s viability came immediately after the launch in May 2016. In June and July, respectively, triple suicide bombings killed more than 40 people at the Ataturk International Airport, and then an attempted coup caused the FAA shut down flights to and from Turkey. The tourism sector had already been reeling in the wake of previous attacks in the country.
Ömer Bekteş, marketing manager in Atlanta, said in remarks that the airline has emerged from these setbacks more passionate than ever about improving service.
“What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,” Mr. Bekteş said.
In the last year, Turkish has filled about 85 percent of the seats on its Atlanta flight, and that number shot up into the mid-90s routinely during the summer months, said Selkan Unel, the airline’s station manager in Atlanta.
Most of those travelers, Mr. Unel said, are flying beyond Turkey to places like India, Israel, even to European destinations like Venice that are not connected to Atlanta with a nonstop flight.
The airline is so bullish on Atlanta that it’s boosting the capacity on the route by 20 percent by the end of next summer by deploying Boeing 787 Dreamliners that will be delivered next year. While the current Airbus A330 used on the route seats 250 (18 in business class), the new wide-body Boeing will have 300 seats overall, including 30 in an improved business class with sliding doors for enhanced privacy and lie-flat beds.
The Dreamliner also has substantially more cargo space and 40 percent better fuel efficiency, an important factor given that Atlanta is Turkish’s second longest nonstop route in the U.S. after Los Angeles.
“If there was an ideal aircraft for Atlanta, the Dreamliner would be it. It was made for this route,” Mr. Unel said.
While the Atlanta flight has benefited travelers transiting Istanbul to other cities, much of its growth has come from those actually stopping into Turkey, he added.
“Now that our marketing team is fully functioning, this office is going to grow even bigger, our Istanbul passengers have increased in 2018 and we expect it to grow even more in 2019.”
And their experience will improve dramatically when Turkish Airlines moves into the new Istanbul international airport set to open Oct. 29.
The massive structure will be able to host 90 million passengers annually, ramping up to 150 million by the 100th anniversary of the Turkish republic in 2023. Even getting close to that number would make it the busiest in the world. Hartsfield-Jackson in Atlanta, the current leader in passenger traffic, had 104 million passengers in 2017.
With all flights slated to be moved to the new airport by Dec. 31, Atlanta business travelers will see practical benefits including four business lounges based on frequent flier level. That includes one post-arrival lounge beyond customs where business-class travelers can take a shower and get suits pressed or even drycleaned free of charge. For tourists who want to see Istanbul while they wait for connecting flights, Turkish Airlines offers free hotel stays for layovers longer than eight hours and free city tours for those exceeding six.
Turkey’s honorary consul in Georgia, Mona Diamond Sunshine, said while cutting the cake at the new office that she’s glad more Georgians will be able to experience what she praised as the best service in the skies.
“Without a doubt, it is the best airline in the world,” Ms. Sunshine said.
A member of the Star Alliance, Turkish Airlines earned best airline in Europe from Skytrax for six years running between 2011-16 before being dethroned by Lufthansa last year.
