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Turkish Airlines launches flights to Australia

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As teased in my round-table interview with Turkish Airlines Chairman Dr. Ahmet Bolat, Turkish Airlines is finally launching flights to Australia.

Melbourne will be the airline’s 364th destination and Australia the 130th country served, increasing Turkish Airline’s lead as the airline with the most global cities served.

The flights will launch from 15th March and will initially operate thrice weekly. It will be a one-stop service from Istanbul with a layover in Singapore, as Turkish Airline’s current fleet does not have the legs to do the route direct. There are plans for this to change with the arrival of new aircraft.

Turkish Airlines launches flights to Australia

Istanbul – Singapore – Melbourne will be operated with a Boeing 787-9 aircraft, which I previously reviewed here. The business class cabin is very comfortable and Turkish Airlines has invested significantly in its food on board. If you start in London, you are likely to get either the 787-9 or a single-aisle A321neo, which has an impressive European business class.

The launch is a kick in the teeth for Qatar Airways, which initially sought to increase its Australia services last year. It was rebuffed by the Australian Government following intense lobbying by (ironically) oneworld partner Qantas.

Instead the Government loosened bilateral ties with Turkey, allowing the country to immediately launch 21 weekly flights to the country, rising to 35 by 2025 (5 per day). Turkish Airlines is taking up some of these traffic rights.

From the UK the journey involves two stops, once in Istanbul and once in Singapore. That makes it less competitive than one-stop options, but with reduced Australia – Europe capacity from Qantas it can probably hoover up enough passengers to make it work until it goes non-stop.

Flights are now bookable on the Turkish Airlines website.

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How to earn Star Alliance miles from UK credit cards

How to earn Star Alliance miles from UK credit cards (September 2025)

None of the Star Alliance airlines currently have a UK credit card.

There is, however, still a way to earn Star Alliance miles from a UK credit card. 

The route is via Marriott Bonvoy. Marriott Bonvoy hotel loyalty points convert to over 40 airlines at the rate of 3:1.

The best way to earn Marriott Bonvoy points is via the official Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card. It comes with 20,000 points for signing up and 2 points for every £1 you spend. At 2 Bonvoy points per £1, you are earning (at 3:1) 0.66 airline miles per £1 spent on the card.

There is a preferential conversion rate to United Airlines – which is a Star Alliance member – of 2 : 1 if you convert 60,000 Bonvoy points at once.

The Star Alliance members which are Marriott Bonvoy transfer partners are: Aegean, Air Canada, Air China, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana Airlines, Avianca, Copa Airlines, Singapore Airlines, TAP Air Portugal, Thai Airways, Turkish Airlines and United Airlines.

You can apply here.

Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card

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Category

General

Comments (47)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • twoclicks says:
    21 Jan21 January 11:11

    It’s great to have more options! But more importantly for a HFP audience, what will be the miles/taxes for a business redemption?!

  • Lady London says:
    21 Jan21 January 11:15

    Good decision by the Aussie government to allow Turkish Airlines in ahead of greater Qatar saturation. Perhaps this is an indicator that the price gouging by monopoly Qantas may also see further steps to cut it back.

    • Michael Jennings says:
      21 Jan21 January 11:38

      They should have let in both

    • callum says:
      21 Jan21 January 12:37

      Qantas does not get along with Qatar at all – Qantas lobbies against them, partners with their biggest competitor (Emirates) and likewise, Qatar partners with their biggest local competitor (Virgin). If the government were going to focus on cutting the “price gouging” by Qantas then they would have allowed Qatar to expand.

      The main reasoning behind blocking them is that the Australian government doesn’t seem very happy about Qatar authorities sexually assaulting a group of Australian women who were transiting through Doha, and the general authoritarian nature of Qatar. Australians however, generally don’t care about it and just want cheap flights. It wouldn’t surprise me if they backtrack on this at some point in the near future.

      • Alex G says:
        21 Jan21 January 13:09

        “The main reasoning behind blocking them is that the Australian government doesn’t seem very happy about Qatar authorities sexually assaulting a group of Australian women who were transiting through Doha, and the general authoritarian nature of Qatar.”

        Great reason. I wish our Government had the backbone to take a similar stance with authoritarian regimes.

        But Brits too don’t really care about this sort of issue, and just want cheap everything today, regardless of the long term costs.

        • NorthernLass says:
          21 Jan21 January 15:38

          Turkey also has a pretty woeful record on women’s (and other minority) rights, so I’m guessing you won’t be flying with them either?

  • Robkeane says:
    21 Jan21 January 17:23

    With Gatwick being the outstation and Dublin being the main hub, air lingus is ending services TO Gatwick from Dublin, regardless of how London centric this site likes to be

    • Rhys says:
      21 Jan21 January 22:28

      We always write routes from the perspective of the UK, not the reverse, regardless of the airline!

  • Ruth4325 says:
    21 Jan21 January 18:32

    I’ve had a CE flight cancelled tonight thanks to storm Isha, LCY to EDI. We have been rebooked on a flight tomorrow morning but in WT. The trip was booked using a 241 voucher which expired on Saturday (the outbound leg).

    My question is, is there any compensation of avios for the downgrading of cabin?

    • Nick says:
      21 Jan21 January 18:40

      You won’t be in WT to Scotland.

      Yes you can get something back from a downgrade. You can ask for the difference in fare/Avios price, or you can ask for reimbursement under EU261 – this will be under the Mennens formula, so you’d do well to read up before deciding which to ask for (there’s a very helpful guide on FT).

      Alternatively you can ask to be rebooked in CE as you were originally, though this may not be on the same day or even soon, depending on availability.

      • Stu_N says:
        21 Jan21 January 21:01

        If it’s an Edinburgh/ London round trip you’ll get about 6k Avios and £20 as reimbursement. Frankly I’d take the Euro Traveller seat rather than hang on for something in CE – looks like an “interesting” week of weather.

        If it’s domestic leg of a long haul 2-4-1 you’ll get even less.

        • Ruth4325 says:
          21 Jan21 January 22:53

          Yes, sorry it’s ET not WT, a return leg of domestic trip. We are definitely taking the seats in economy, god knows when CE will be available at this rate. Thanks for the info.

  • kevin says:
    21 Jan21 January 20:36

    So is there no lounge availability for BA Silver members in Gatwick?

    • Rob says:
      21 Jan21 January 20:49

      Not when flying Aer Lingus.

    • Blair Waldorf Salad says:
      21 Jan21 January 22:49

      They’re not in OneWorld so ANY lounge access for OW elites is already over and above. Aer Lingus AerClub elites get sent to the No1 Lounge, along with anyone purchasing an Advantage or Aerspace fare.

  • Bernard says:
    22 Jan22 January 13:49

    Maybe Global Airlines are renting the Aer Lingus slots. LOL.

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

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