LONDON – Turkish Airlines has signed a codesharing deal with Air Seychelles, with this deal set to begin on October 15, 2022.
The Turkish carrier will be placing its famous TK code on the Mahe-Praslin flight operated by Air Seychelles, whilst the other carrier will place its HM code on the Istanbul-Mahe, Istanbul-Tel Aviv, and Istanbul-Paris flights.
Turkish Airlines CEO Bilal Ekşi said: “We are pleased to sign this codeshare agreement with Air Seychelles, and aim to improve our partnership to maximize the travel opportunities offered to our passengers through our flight networks.”
“We believe that this partnership will not only bring benefits to both carriers from a commercial perspective but also improve the cultural and tourism relations between two countries”.
Also commenting on this deal was Sandy Benoiton, the Acting CEO of Air Seychelles:
“Air Seychelles is thrilled to offer the TK code on our domestic flights between Mahe and Praslin, allowing a single-ticket transaction for seamless travel to Seychelles’ second largest island.”
“Additionally, the Air Seychelles HM-code will appear in key cities in Europe and the Middle East, allowing further options and travel date flexibility to our passengers”.
A Quiet Year for Air Seychelles So Far…
It’s been a quiet year for Air Seychelles so far, as the airline has been trying to rescue itself from bankruptcy, and has had success with this so far.
Back in January, it agreed with its debtors to pay back one-third of its debt.
The state-owned news agency, Seychelles News Agency, quoting the airline’s administration, says that the airline will pay $27.8 million out of its initial debt of $71 million owed to bondholders as part of an agreement between the airline’s administrators and its creditors.
Bernard Pool, an appointed administrator, says in a statement that talks between the administrators, Air Seychelles, and the government will continue to ensure that the conditions set within the rescue plan are fully met.
The airline’s ground handling, cargo, engineering, and other services will remain unimpacted, while the regional flights will have to be restructured.
One of the airline’s plans to restructure is to do a sale-leaseback on some of its Twin Otters to raise some cash.
A Busy Year for Turkish Airlines…
As expected with a large legacy carrier like Turkish Airlines, they have had quite a busy year so far, with the most recent announcement being about additional flights to the UAE.
The airline is increasing its frequencies as a response to customer demand, who want a more confident travel itinerary, with the added option of flexibility when flying to these aforementioned regions.
Currently, Turkish Airlines has three daily flights from Dubai to Istanbul Airport, which will increase to four daily flights starting from October 2022, together with three weekly flights to the Sabiha Gokcen Airport operated by Anadolujet.
Flight TK765 will depart from Dubai (DXB) at 16:00, and flight TK764 will depart from Istanbul at 08:15.
Turkish Airlines flights to Abu Dhabi will be increased to 10 weekly flights. They will operate on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. Flight TK866 will depart at 01:20 from Istanbul, with the return flight being planned at 07:55 local time.
Turkish Airlines will also relaunch their flights to Sharjah on the 3rd of October with 3 weekly flights. Currently, Anadolujet is flying to Sharjah from Sabihah Gokcen Airport a frequency of 4 times a week.
The Turkish Airlines flight TK754 will depart on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays at 01:15 local, and the return flight departs at 07:40 local.
With all of these extra connections, Turkish Airlines will have a total of 48 weekly flights to the UAE, which allows the passenger to get one of the most flexible travel options for both types of passengers, those who want to continue traveling with Saudi Arabia, or for the passengers who want to connect with Turkish well established worldwide connections.
Either way, this will be a good deal benefitting Air Seychelles more, as they will be able to open themselves up to more revenue streams that will help the carrier return to profitability in the future.
