‘Very low entry prices’: Turkish Airlines eyes Auckland flights via Singapore

Turkish Airlines has confirmed its intention to start flying to and from Auckland, saying the service would operate via Singapore. Speaking at the Turkish Airlines Management Summit 2025 in Antalya, airline chairman Ahmet Bolat said the first Auckland flights would follow the same pattern as its Istanbul to Melbourne service, with a Singapore stopover, local news outlet Turizm Ekonomi reported. The rapidly expanding airline, one of the world’s largest, also flies between Istanbul and Sydney via Kuala Lumpur. Turkish Airlines CE Bilal Eksi told Aviation Week last December that the carrier could start the Auckland route in 2026. Non-stop flights between Istanbul and Auckland are also being looked at as the airline expands its fleet of ultra-long range Airbus A350-1000 aircraft. The airline, rated in the world’s top 10 by Skytrax this year, plans to start using the A350-1000s on the Istanbul to Sydney route in late 2026, doing away with the stopover in Malaysia. The flight time would be about 17 hours. Aviation expert Irene King said the airline may schedule its aircraft so they can do a trans-Tasman run off the back of a Sydney or Melbourne flight. “Quite often airlines do this to enter the market and then move to direct services quite quickly as it’s expensive to do a stop - or in this case multiple stops.” Turkish Airlines flies to more destinations worldwide than any other carrier with more than 350 destinations in 130 countries. The new Istanbul-Auckland route would add extra competition on the Auckland-Singapore route currently serviced by Air New Zealand and Singapore Airlines, potentially leading to lower prices for Kiwi travellers.<br/>