Turkish Airlines is soaring across the Atlantic

The pandemic has not made transatlantic travel easy. Since 2019, few airlines have increased service across the pond, and none have increased as much as Turkish Airlines.

Boosting monthly capacity by over 85% in August 2023 compared to August 2019, Turkish Airlines is making its move. Acquiring aircraft and growing through the pandemic, the airline made a bet that international passengers would return, and Turkish would be the airline to move them.

Seat share has also nearly doubled for the airline, rising from 2.4% of transatlantic available seat miles in 2019 to 4.6% today. While still a small portion of the overall market, Turkish now rests solidly in ninth place, rivaling Iberia and Air Canada.

Few cities have been added to the network since 2019, notably Vancouver, Seattle, and Dallas/Ft. Worth. Yet, frequencies have been boosed on almost all flights, particularly those into North America.

Finding a Turkish Airlines flight that operates less than daily is much more difficult today than in 2019. The distinction matters as connection options through IST into Asia and Africa have increased, putting the airline in direct competition with the likes of Emirates, Qatar, and Etihad.