Turkish Airlines begins upgraded Chicago-Istanbul service in May

Turkish Airlines is bracing to compete with some leading international carriers offering nonstop service between Chicago O’Hare International Airport and Istanbul Atatürk Airport. The airline has indicated that it is ready to give prominent Middle East carriers tough times with upgraded service between the two destinations effective from May 2015.

The Istanbul-based carrier in a statement said that it will start flights services on Chicago O’Hare-Istanbul route using the larger Boeing 777-300 aircraft now. It is among Boeing’s largest long-range aircrafts currently into operations. Turkish Airlines is now serving the route with the smaller Airbus A330-200 aircraft.

The upgraded aircraft will enable Turkish Airlines to increase its seat capacity in business class cabin to 49. The capacity in economy class cabin will also be expanded to 300 seats.

The airline in a statement said that the customers booking business class tickets for travel on the new Boeing 777-300 aircraft will be offered various privileges including free Wi-Fi access, and Live TV for in-flight entertainment featuring channels like Sport 24, Sky News Arabic and BBC World, among others.

Chicago is presently Turkish Airlines’ sixth U.S. gateway which it is currently serving. The airline will now be aggressively competing with three leading Middle East carriers such as Qatar Airways, Etihad Airways and Emirates Airline on the Chicago route. These carriers are seeking customers to the Middle East and to various other destinations beyond.
 
Turkish Airlines, which is presently providing flights services to 260 destinations spanning 108 countries around the world, wants to attract Midwest travelers who want to connect to various other destinations through Istanbul.