Turkish Airlines, the flag carrier of Turkey has signed codeshare agreements with Thai Airways as well as TAM Airlines to expand its reach to destinations in Thailand, Australia and South America.
Codeshare Agreement with Thai Airways
Turkish Airlines (TK) and Thai Airways have teamed together for a Free Sale Codeshare Agreement that will allow both the airlines to operate certain flights by using their own code and flight numbers on a free sale basis. The Turkish airlines will now enjoy a wider reach - flights to Bangkok from its hub Istanbul and further connection to Australia.
As per this codeshare agreement, Turkish Airlines passengers taking flights to Bangkok will now be able to get a seamless connections on Thai Airways-operated flights to Brisbane, Perth, Melbourne, Sydney, Auckland and Kuala Lumpur. These cities are currently offline spots in Turkish Airlines network. Other than these listed destinations, a similar deal will be applied to Hong Kong so as to make it possible for Turkish Airlines passengers to travel between Bangkok and Hong Kong on TK coded flights.
The codeshare is likely to give travellers looking for relatively cheap flight tickets a good option to travel between the shared destinations.
Thai Airways President Piyasvasti Amranand said: "By code sharing with Turkish Airlines, THAI can reach many other European cities through Istanbul, which is another gateway for THAI into Europe as well as destinations in Turkey".
He was further quoted as saying, "Both our airlines can look forward to mutual strengthening of potential markets through Turkish Airlines extensive route net into Europe and through THAI's strong network in Asia and Australia."
The chief executive of Turkish Airlines, Mr. Temel Kotil observed that the shared flights would help the airlines in increasing air traffic between Turkey and Thailand.
Codeshare Agreement with TAM Airlines
Turkish Airlines has also entered in a codeshare agreement with TAM Airlines. The agreement signed between the two members of the Star Alliance will boost the options of holiday destinations for the travellers planning to fly between South America and Europe.
Under this mutual agreement, the airlines will now be able to sell tickets for certain flights operated under the code share routes by the partnership.
Once this codeshare agreement is operational, clients of the TAM Airlines will be able to fly direct between São Paulo and Istanbul in a Turkish Airlines flight whereas, Turkish Airlines customers can book tickets to São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Brasília, Porto Alegre and Foz do Iguaçu; and Buenos Aires in Argentina aboard flights operated by TAM Airlines. Due to such a boost in the frequency of flights on the specified routes, the travellers are sure to have a wider choice to pick their cheap flights from.
The agreement is waiting for the final acceptance from the aviation authorities in Brazil and Turkey.
Turkish Airlines is based at the Atatürk International Airport, Istanbul and has a route network of domestic and regional services across Turkey and the Middle East and operates international flights to Europe, Africa, North America, South America and Asia. The airline is a member of the Star Alliance. The airline won the Skytrax's Best Airline – Europe and Best Premium Economy Class Airline Seat award for 2011.
Thai Airways is the national carrier and largest airline of Thailand and flies to over 70 destinations all over the world. The Star Alliance member was recently in the news for becoming the first carrier in the Asian continent to operate a commercial passenger flight using biofuels.
TAM Airlines is based at Sao Paolo-Guarulhos International Airport and is the national airline and largest carrier of Brazil. The airline operates an extensive network of international flights to North America and Europe and domestic and regional flights within South America. The airline is a Star Alliance member and the winner of Skytrax's Best Airline – South America award for 2011.
