America Soon to See More of Turkish Airlines: Our Chat with CEO Dr. Temel Kotil
September 22, 2010 at 9:35 AM | by JetSetCD
What international airline is adding the most new direct routes to the US in the next year? If you guessed Turkish Airlines, you'd be right. The airline's CEO, Dr. Temel Kotil, was in New York City yesterday and we made sure to catch up with him to talk about Turkish's campaign to get more Americans interested in Turkey and their fast-expanding airline.
What Turkish Airlines' CEO Dr. Temel Kotil has to say... · On the next adventure for Turkish Airlines, in the US:
"We want to be the largest company on Earth," says a smiling Dr. Kotil, and although that sounds like the height of ambition, Kotil counters by stating that years ago, when they wanted to be Southern Europe's largest airline and in the top 3 for Europe, that was also counted as too ambitious. But both those goals have now been attained, and to continue expanding, they're looking at the US.
Three new routes will begin in the next several months: Washington DC, Atlanta and Los Angeles to Istanbul. Beyond that, Kotil wants to add twice daily flights from New York and new routes from Detroit, Boston, Houston and Miami.
· On who they're hoping to attract with the new routes:
"80% of our passengers are traveling on business," admits Dr. Kotil, and business will remain a big focus with the new US routes, but that doesn't mean that all the bells and whistles go for business class onboard the planes.
"We have Business Plus with a 45" seat pitch; it's much closer to Business Class than Economy." This is Turkish's version of premium economy, giving economy flyers a way to upgrade their experience a little, without paying the huge price jump to full business class. Dr. Kotil says not to forget that Turkish Airlines' 777s—which they use on the US routes—also have stand-up bars for all passengers to enjoy. And here we thought those niceties were reserved for the likes of Upper Class on Virgin Atlantic.
· On what to expect from the in-flight service:
"We have 300 million bosses, and we want them to each feel like a star." Dr. Kotil is boasting with a brimming grin now, because he's talking about his passengers. Turkish Airlines is not a state-owned airline, and the fact that they're a private company means they must continually focus on the quality of the experience. High marks means high returns means happy investors, means everyone is happy.
And about their tops rating for in-flight food? Dr. Kotil assures us that, no matter what other airlines are considering, Turkish won't be charging extra or at all for their in-flight meals. "We would never make our cabin attendants salespeople." The focus is on a "3D" flight experience, doing what you'd be doing at home, whether it's reading, watching TV, having a large dinner or just relaxing.
· On how Turkish's in-flight crew will evolve with the airline
Although they aren't jumping into the A380 game, Turkish does have quite a long list of planes on order to compliment their expansion. Since all of their flight crew is based in Istanbul, Turkish is able to keep a handle on the quality of service.
Dr. Kotil takes a lot of pride in saying that his airline's flight attendants take a mandatory full day of training and refresher learning each month; with 4,500 cabin attendants on the payroll, that's 130 getting brought back up to speed each day of each month. As well as keeping Turkish Airline's quality up to standard and implementing changes quickly, the training days means the flight crew forms bonds with each other and more allegiance to the airline. Needless to say, a Steve Slater-type incident is unlikely to occur on Turkish.
· On when we can expect in-flight WiFi from Turkish Airlines
No direct answer here, except for that "the focus is on personal connection." We're going to take that as a "later, rather than sooner" reply.
· On how he passes the time during long international flights
You know we had to ask him this, since Dr. Kotil is more than just the President and CEO of an airline, he is a father. Of Dr. Kotil's four children, two are in college in the United States, luckily both in cities with direct Turkish Airlines flights from Istanbul.
To make the flight time pass, especially his favorite route—Istanbul to New York—Dr. Kotil likes "to sample everything," meaning he'll read, or he'll play with the in-flight entertainment, or just sleep. He likens his Turkish Airline flights to "home, with a little bit of engine noise."
(Jaunted.com)
September 22, 2010 at 9:35 AM | by JetSetCD
What international airline is adding the most new direct routes to the US in the next year? If you guessed Turkish Airlines, you'd be right. The airline's CEO, Dr. Temel Kotil, was in New York City yesterday and we made sure to catch up with him to talk about Turkish's campaign to get more Americans interested in Turkey and their fast-expanding airline.
What Turkish Airlines' CEO Dr. Temel Kotil has to say... · On the next adventure for Turkish Airlines, in the US:
"We want to be the largest company on Earth," says a smiling Dr. Kotil, and although that sounds like the height of ambition, Kotil counters by stating that years ago, when they wanted to be Southern Europe's largest airline and in the top 3 for Europe, that was also counted as too ambitious. But both those goals have now been attained, and to continue expanding, they're looking at the US.
Three new routes will begin in the next several months: Washington DC, Atlanta and Los Angeles to Istanbul. Beyond that, Kotil wants to add twice daily flights from New York and new routes from Detroit, Boston, Houston and Miami.
· On who they're hoping to attract with the new routes:
"80% of our passengers are traveling on business," admits Dr. Kotil, and business will remain a big focus with the new US routes, but that doesn't mean that all the bells and whistles go for business class onboard the planes.
"We have Business Plus with a 45" seat pitch; it's much closer to Business Class than Economy." This is Turkish's version of premium economy, giving economy flyers a way to upgrade their experience a little, without paying the huge price jump to full business class. Dr. Kotil says not to forget that Turkish Airlines' 777s—which they use on the US routes—also have stand-up bars for all passengers to enjoy. And here we thought those niceties were reserved for the likes of Upper Class on Virgin Atlantic.
· On what to expect from the in-flight service:
"We have 300 million bosses, and we want them to each feel like a star." Dr. Kotil is boasting with a brimming grin now, because he's talking about his passengers. Turkish Airlines is not a state-owned airline, and the fact that they're a private company means they must continually focus on the quality of the experience. High marks means high returns means happy investors, means everyone is happy.
And about their tops rating for in-flight food? Dr. Kotil assures us that, no matter what other airlines are considering, Turkish won't be charging extra or at all for their in-flight meals. "We would never make our cabin attendants salespeople." The focus is on a "3D" flight experience, doing what you'd be doing at home, whether it's reading, watching TV, having a large dinner or just relaxing.
· On how Turkish's in-flight crew will evolve with the airline
Although they aren't jumping into the A380 game, Turkish does have quite a long list of planes on order to compliment their expansion. Since all of their flight crew is based in Istanbul, Turkish is able to keep a handle on the quality of service.
Dr. Kotil takes a lot of pride in saying that his airline's flight attendants take a mandatory full day of training and refresher learning each month; with 4,500 cabin attendants on the payroll, that's 130 getting brought back up to speed each day of each month. As well as keeping Turkish Airline's quality up to standard and implementing changes quickly, the training days means the flight crew forms bonds with each other and more allegiance to the airline. Needless to say, a Steve Slater-type incident is unlikely to occur on Turkish.
· On when we can expect in-flight WiFi from Turkish Airlines
No direct answer here, except for that "the focus is on personal connection." We're going to take that as a "later, rather than sooner" reply.
· On how he passes the time during long international flights
You know we had to ask him this, since Dr. Kotil is more than just the President and CEO of an airline, he is a father. Of Dr. Kotil's four children, two are in college in the United States, luckily both in cities with direct Turkish Airlines flights from Istanbul.
To make the flight time pass, especially his favorite route—Istanbul to New York—Dr. Kotil likes "to sample everything," meaning he'll read, or he'll play with the in-flight entertainment, or just sleep. He likens his Turkish Airline flights to "home, with a little bit of engine noise."
(Jaunted.com)
