LONDON – This week saw Turkish Airlines unveil a new livery on one of its Airbus A330-300 for the UEFA Champions League.
TC-JNM: The Aircraft in Question…
It is understood that TC-JNM is the Airbus A330-300 in question that is sporting this new livery.
Below, you can see a video from Turkish Airlines of the livery being painted onto the aircraft:
On January 1, it took to the skies again as TK1821 from Istanbul to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport.
Based on data from RadarBox.com, TC-JNM transferred itself between the two Istanbul Airports on December 28 for the repaint.
Bolat: One of the Most Significant Sponsorships…
Turkish Airlines Chairman of the Board and the Executive Committee, Prof. Dr. Ahmet Bolat, said the following on this new livery reveal:
“We will host the 2023 finale of the UEFA Champions League in İstanbul as one of its official sponsors.”
“We are pleased to be a part of this important event which will also take place during the 100th year of our Republic.”
“As this is one of the most significant sponsorships of Turkish sports history, our aircraft with the UEFA Champions League theme is a testament to our commitment to sports.”
Why Are Turkish Airlines The Sponsors?
As mentioned above, Turkish Airlines is the main sponsor of the UEFA Champions League because the Final of the tournament is due to take place in Istanbul on June 10 this year.
Therefore, it makes sense that they are the main sponsor due to their reach across Europe, which is where all of the football tournament takes place.
It works kind of the same way as Qatar Airways when they were the main sponsor of the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Doha.
Because the airlines are going to be responsible for the transportation of passengers to the final, then it is additional PR for airlines such as Turkish Airlines to acquire.
Overall…
It remains clear that this is a simple yet effective livery from Turkish Airlines to celebrate its home country hosting the final of the football tournament.
Looking ahead, it’s going to be interesting to see whether they will adopt anything similar to Qatar Airways in the perspective of additional flights to deal with extra capacity.
There will be extra capacity, as was witnessed last year out of Liverpool Airport when Vueling operated one-off flights between the Merseyside-based airport and Paris Orly for the Champions League final in Paris.
Liverpool made it to the final of the Champions League last year and subsequently lost against Real Madrid in that game.
But for now, all eyes will be on Turkish Airlines to see what sort of announcements they will make in the run-up to the final.
