Turkish Airlines' Sami Tayanc Kanbal & Darlene Paolucci
Jason du Sautoy, Flight Centre Group; Daksha Bishnoi, Westend Travel; Bruce Slade, Huntington Travel; & Athar Mohd, Westend Travel
Sahara Travel's Dunia & Wisam Alsaigh
Natasha Gureva, Sky Bird Travel & Yury Manukhov, Canadian Gateway
When stories about mergers, bankruptcy and struggling airlines so often pepper the news lineup, it’s hard to retain much optimism for the aviation industry. However, one company is making positive headlines begging the question, “How have they done it?”
All was revealed at Turkish Airlines’ recent breakfast event held at Toronto’s Sandman Signature Hotel Toronto Airport where 30 travel agent partners and air consolidators gathered.
Turkish Airlines was 1st introduced to the Canadian market in 2009. Since then, it has grown astoundingly, operating flights 5 times per week between Toronto and Istanbul, and 3 times a week with Air Canada’s code share.
With one of the youngest fleets in Europe, free onboard WiFi and their Flying Chef concept, the carrier has received numerous accolades and has been voted Europe’s Best Airline by Skytrax for 3 years in a row.
“The growth of Turkish Airlines in Canada is parallel to the airline’s network growth,” said Darlene Paolucci, Business Development & Marketing Manager. “The network multiplier effect to and from Toronto via Istanbul is providing a rich reach for all types of travellers.” Turkish Airlines is the only carrier in the world that operates to 239 cities in 105 countries. By the end of 2013, they may be adding 5 more destinations.
Despite the awards and recognition, the Turkish Airlines team in Canada acknowledged that there is still room for improvement. According to Paolucci, they are striving to match all kinds of travel demand be it business, leisure or ethnic travel. “We are far from reaching the true potential of what we can offer the Canadian market,” she said. “We will be meeting with agencies directly to improve communication. We want the trade’s feedback.”
