Turkish Airlines will fly from Birmingham International Airport to Istanbul from December 15, 2008.
The Turkish flag carrier, which is a member of Star Alliance, will run five flights a week to Istanbul.
On Mondays and Thursdays flights will leave Birmingham at 1130 and arrive in Istanbul at 1725. On Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays flights will depart Birmingham at 1315 and arrive in Istanbul at 1910.
For passengers flying from Turkey, they will leave Istanbul at 0820 on Mondays and Thursdays and arrive in the UK at 1030. On Tuesday, Fridays and Sundays they will leave at 1005, arriving in Birmingham at 1215.
Each flight will take four hours, and Istanbul is two hours ahead of the UK.
Passengers will fly on a 155-seat Boeing 737-800 aircraft, fitted with 20 business-class seats and 135 economy seats. The airline has about five Boeings in its fleet, based in Istanbul.
The new route is the first direct service for travellers flying from the Midlands to Istanbul and will allow passengers flying from Birmingham to connect on to Bangkok, Karachi in Pakistan and South Africa”s Johannesburg and Cape Town.
Osman Battal, the UK director for Turkish Airlines, said he expects 30,000 passengers will fly between the two cities. ”Although we will be launching in December with five weekly flights, we aspire to be operating daily services from Birmingham by summer 2009 and carrying 30,000 of passengers a year by this time,” he said.
A flight from Birmingham International to Istanbul with Turkish Airlines starts from ”180 return, including taxes. To reserve, call 08448 006666, or visit thy.com.
After Manchester, Birmingham International is the UK”s second largest airport outside London, based on figures of total passengers flying in and out of the airport. In 2007, 9,232,496 passengers used the airport. It is the third largest airport for charter traffic, and the UK”s sixth largest overall.
For more information about Turkish Airlines, visit thy.com.
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Sarah Riches