A new player has entered the Australian tourism market, with Turkish Airlines touching down in Melbourne for the first time last night.
The airline's first flight from Istanbul to Australia landed at Melbourne Airport at 8.40pm yesterday.
It's hoped the new service will benefit Melbourne's thriving Turkish community as well as put downward pressure on prices.
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The new flights will operate three times per week, with a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner in use for the airline's Winter operation, and A350-900 for Summer.
Economy fares from Melbourne start from $1499 return, while business fares from Melbourne will start from $7599 return.
International flights from Australia to Turkey have required a stop-over in Singapore, but the new route will soon fly direct once newer and improved aircraft become available.
Melbourne Airport's Andrew Lund told Today it was hoped the new route would put downward pressure on prices for travelers who have had to endure significant increases since the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Turkish Airlines is a huge global player, initially these three flights a week into Melbourne will be a bit of a game changer for the Australian market," Lund said.
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"There are two big drivers of airfares, that's capacity and competition. So having a new player entering the market will put downward pressure on prices.
"So consumers will be the big winners from this."
It's hoped the new deal with Turkish Airlines will unlock new parts of Europe and Asia for Australian travelers.
The airline will initially launch three flights a week to Turkey via Singapore, before introducing direct flights from Melbourne to Istanbul once a larger aircraft becomes operational.
