Turkish Airlines’ goal of becoming one of the biggest carriers between Europe and the Middle East remains on-track, said a senior official on the sidelines of Arabian Travel Market (ATM) expo in Dubai.

Mehmet Akif Konar, senior vice president, Marketing and Sales, said over the last five years Dubai has established itself as one of the fastest growing destinations – and one of the most profitable – in the Turkish Airlines’ network.

In 2010, load factors (which describe the number of sold tickets in relation to available seats) averaged 84 per cent, and in the first quarter of 2011, the figure reached 85 per cent.

“Demand for seats remains strong,” Konar said. 'This is not just for flights between Dubai and Istanbul, which is a hugely popular destination for Emiratis and expatriates, but beyond,' he added.

Sixty-five per cent of all outbound traffic is now for destinations beyond Istanbul. This is due in large part to our capability to offer some of the best connections to more than 77 destinations across Europe and North America, through one of Europe’s most modern airports.

“Turkish Airlines also has one of the industry’s youngest fleets and our double daily service in Dubai is now served by a brand new A330,” he observed.

“And as passengers from the UAE travel onwards through Istanbul, they can also book into our new Comfort Class – a new premium economy cabin that is configured between business and economy classes – which has proven to be extremely popular on long-haul routes such as Chicago, Toronto, Sao Paulo, Los Angeles and New York,' said Konar.

“Turkish Airlines’ Comfort Class comes at a very competitive price, which is well below the cost of a business class ticket,” he explained.

“Providing more legroom, more and better onboard catering and enhanced in-flight entertainment options, it is all set to be introduced soon to the Middle East as part of our aggressive expansion plan of putting in more new aircraft into the region,” the official added.

Another new initiative for the Middle East which is being introduced at ATM is the Turkish Corporate Club, said Konar.

'Specifically designed for corporate customers, bespoke programmes can be created to meet corporate needs including a wide range of benefits such as upfront discounts, charge waivers (free rebooking, route change and cancellation), free flights, corporate club cards for travelling employees, higher excess baggage levels, free stopover programmes in Istanbul – and all without hidden costs or extra charges.'

Turkish Airlines, which became a member of the world’s largest airline network - Star Alliance - in 2007, is all geared-up to showcase some of the many reasons for its continued success at the Arabian Travel Market, he added.-TradeArabia News Service