Award-Winning Airline Adds New U.S. Gateway To World’s Largest Network

06.12.2023 - 16:03 / forbes.com

Turkish Airlines flies to 345 destinations in more different nations than any other carrier in the world, with one of the newest and most acclaimed airports as its hub. It also consistently ranks among the very best airlines and just won–again–Best Airline in Europe in the 2023 Skytrax World Airline Awards, the industry’s most influential, beating out the likes of Air France, Swiss, Lufthansa, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic. It also took home four other Number Ones in the awards, including Best Economy Class Seat in Europe and Best Business Class Cuisine worldwide. (I recently wrote in detail here at Forbes about another award-winning carrier, Qatar Airways, which has won World’s Best Airline and World’s Best Business Class among other titles).

The new $12-billion state of the art hub airport in Istanbul was ranked the 6^th best on earth by Skytrax, as well as the World’s Most Family Friendly. On top of all this, Turkish Airlines usually offers one of the best value price points for both economy and premium cabins. I just checked fares for an upcoming trip to South Africa, and they were less expensive than many airlines I consider inferior. Yet for some reason, it still seems to lack brand recognition here, and many American travelers overlook Turkish when deciding who to fly internationally. I think that can be a big mistake.

All of this explains why it is big news for travelers, especially Delta and United frequent fliers and those in the Midwest, that Turkish just started flying non-stop from Detroit to Istanbul, making the Motor City its 13^th gateway airport in the U.S. (Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Washington, DC) and 16^th in North America (Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal). Thrice-weekly flights commenced last month, and the schedule is increasing to four days per week from Christmas Day.

Detroit is the 10^th largest city in the country, hotbed of the automotive industry, a major international hub, and easy to get to from many parts of the country, especially for Delta fliers, as it is one of their key airports. Turkish Airways is part of Star Alliance, which I think is the best of the airline alliances, with United here as well as some of the world’s top carriers including ANA, Air New Zealand, EVA Air, Lufthansa, SAS, Singapore, Swiss and Thai.

“The capital of the automotive world is now connected directly with the capital of world history,” said Michael Patrick Shiels, a Michigan-based broadcaster whose award-winning drive-time radio show is syndicated across the state, longtime travel journalist and the author of several books, most recently Travel Tattler: Less Than Torrid Tales. Shiels raved about his experiences om Turkish