Turkish Airlines expands U.S. presence with new Atlanta flights

Turkey’s national carrier Turkish Airlines is planning to further expand its network in the United States. The airline recently launched its new flights to Atlanta from Istanbul. The daily, nonstop service was welcomed at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport with water cannons salute.

The inaugural flight touched down at Atlanta at 5 pm ET on May 16, 2016. The route will be served with the help of a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. Apart from Atlanta, Turkish Airlines is offering flights services to eight other U.S. destinations. These include San Francisco, Washington D.C., Houston, Los Angeles, Boston, Miami, Chicago and New York. It may be noted that Turkish Airlines is presently operating flights to 284 destinations spread in over 113 countries.

Miguel Southwell, Turkish Airlines’ Aviation General Manager, said, “The company is thrilled to provide nonstop, daily connectivity to Atlanta. The new service will prove to be advantageous for business and leisure travellers from both sides of the Atlantic.”

Turkish Airlines is aiming to revive its ailing tourism industry with daily flights to Atlanta, which is presently home to 14 Fortune 500 businesses. The airline has revealed that it is all set to be delivered a record number of aircrafts in 2016. The airline will be including six Boeing 777-300ER aircrafts and 20 Next-Generation Boeing 737-800 aircrafts this year. By acquiring the new aircrafts Turkish Airlines wants to launch flights services to new domestic and international destinations.

According to the estimates of the Atlanta Regional Commission nearly 146,000 people from South Asian countries are currently residing in the Atlanta area. Aviation industry experts said that with the launch of nonstop, daily flights to Atlanta by Turkish Airlines, there is every possibility of other international airlines operating out of Hartsfield-Jackson are going to fiercely compete on the route as well. The South Asian community in particular stands to gain in the days to come with cheaper flights than before.