Seems like everyone in Europe (and even the North American legacies) talks about the rising threat of Middle East domination with their new airports, enormous fleets of new, big and fuel-efficient airplanes and supposed "endless checkbooks." Obviously those three carriers will be extremely competitive and impact global passenger flows from continent to continent, but what about the other growing presence nearer to old Europe? Are the Euro legacies adequately monitoring (and planning against) the growth of Turkish Airlines?
I knew they were planning it, but I just found this bit on another forum (airliners.net) and it relates to the new Istanbul airport planned for the back end of this decade and early 2020s. Still a few years out, but still an impressive plan. While our European airports like Berlin's new airport and the no/slow growth planning for LHR stall our ability to grow, the Turkish government is very proactive about infrastructure development and keeping THY growing. Certainly, airport development plans never work out as expected or on time (i.e., Doha's new airport) - there will be delays and challenges. But when and if this airport is fully functional, it could enable considerable growth and connectivity (both passengers and
CARGO) - imagine the connectivity with 165 gates!!!! And I believe I read that THY is looking to grow to (and connect) something like 300 individual destinations. Here's the post from Airliners.net outlining some of the details related to the new, planned airport:
Some more info out from the tender:
Stage 1 = 2017:
- Main terminal with 680,000sq meter
- Additional satellite building 170,000sq meter - the total capacity of both terminals will be 90mil passengers per year
- 88 jetway contact gates
- Car park for 42,000 cars
- three independent runways
- 3.1mil sq meter apron
Stage 2 = 2019
- additional terminal - 200,000 sq meter
- additional runway + additional high speed taxiways for existing runways
- additional 1mil sq meter apron
Stage 3 = 2021
- additional terminal - 200,000 sq meter
- additional runway + taxiway systems
- additional 1mil sq meter apron
Stage 4 = 2025
- additional terminal - 250,000 sq meter
- additional runway + additional taxiways
- Additional 0.9mil sq meter apron
Key facts:
- 1.5mil sq terminal space area
- Capacity of 150mil passengers per year
- 6 runways (4 parallel + 2 crosswind parallel) all VLA capable
- 165 jetway contact gates
- intra-terminal rail connection
- 3 separate maintenance hangar areas
- 8 cargo ramp areas
- Apron space for 500 aircraft spread over 6.5mil sq meters
- Direct airport auto parking lots for 70,000 cars
- Additional adjacent facilities including hospital, hotels, mosque, congress center, waste recycling and water treatment facility.
Image from news paper.
I think THY will be able to easily match the growth of the Middle Eastern carriers if this airport comes to fruition. At some point THY will also need to consider a jumbo order (A380s, 748s, A350-1000s or the proposed 777-X) for the major trunk routes. No wonder LH is looking to form a stronger bond with THY - I would be scared too if I saw this very capable airport in my backyard! I believe that I read that while EK operates to 4 German cities, THY operates to 8-9 with a mix of heavies and 738s/320s for thinner nonstop routes (but they still provide the connectivity to smaller German cities - e.g., one stop from Hannover to Narita or to JoBerg). Meanwhile, the UK is stalling on adding more runways at LHR or choosing a new greenfield site for a more competitive airport elsewhere...
Pretty impressive plans in Istanbul if they actually come to fruition over the next decade. Any thoughts?