New player in market set to spark fare wars to Europe

Australian travellers keen to enjoy Europe over the coming summer can anticipate far more competitive fares this year, after Turkish Airlines brought forward the date for its inaugural direct flight to Australia. Turkish Airlines’ first flight will arrive in Melbourne on March 2 – two weeks before previously announced, and use a bigger Boeing 777 aircraft. It will initially fly to Istanbul via Singapore on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, before expanding into other cities. The much-anticipated arrival of Turkish direct into Australia – rather than just its current code share operations out of Singapore – will almost certainly put downward pressure on flight prices, said Graham Turner, co-founder and CEO of Flight Centre Travel Group. “Fares are still way above what we were seeing in 2019, but I think 2024 will be really positive for consumers chasing sharper airfare prices, and an airline the size and scale of Turkish coming direct into this market will really shake things up,” Turner said. Economy return prices from Australia to European cities are currently sitting at about A$2000-$2500, rising to $3500 in peak periods, compared with $1500 – and even $1000 – before the pandemic hit in February 2020. The launch gives Australians a new springboard into Europe that does not involve the standard, lengthy queues at London’s Heathrow Airport. Given Turkish Airlines, a Star Alliance partner, is one of the world’s largest carriers, its connectivity and frequency of flights to a range of European cities is unrivalled by any of the large carriers that dominate the Australian market into Europe, such as Qantas, Singapore Airlines, Emirates and Qatar.<br/>