Shortly after Turkish Airlines put on sale its much-awaited first Australian route from Istanbul to Melbourne via Singapore, the start date was brought forward. The initial equipment has also changed based on the carrier's latest schedule upload to Cirium over the weekend. All the changes are now reflected in booking engines.

This is the latest information

Turkish Airlines' first service from Istanbul to Australia will now lift off on March 1st rather than the previously planned March 15th. While the airline already has relationships Down Under, which will help drive sales, the launch is now barely a month away. Let's hope the new start date reflects higher-than-expected bookings.

While it was to use the 300-seat 787-9 before switching to the 329-seat A350-900, the 349-seat 777-300ER will now be used, although only temporarily. It will be deployed on the first two roundtrips, leaving Istanbul on March 1st and 4th.

Photo: Eliyahu Yosef Parypa | Shutterstock

The thrice-weekly frequency remains the same, as does the schedule, as shown below. All times local:

• Istanbul to Singapore: TK168, 17:30-08:50+1 (10h 20m)
• Singapore to Melbourne: TK168, 10:20-20:40 (7h 20m)
• Melbourne to Singapore: TK169, 22:30-03:00+1 (7h 30m)
• Singapore to Istanbul: TK169, 04:30-11:15 (11h 45m)

Despite what Turkish Airlines' Chairman stated last year about not needing fifth freedom traffic rights due to the extent of competition and the consequent impacts, it is available. However, with the low frequency, relatively high fares, and the dodgy timings of the return leg for those traveling to Changi, I suspect not many people will choose the carrier.

Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying

While the 777-300ER will be used on March 1st and 4th, the 787-9 will be deployed from Istanbul from March 6th. The A350-900 will take over on March 31st, the day northern airlines switch to summer schedules.

The image below shows how I see changes listed in Cirium based on what airlines submit to the data source each week. I can click on the hyperlinks, which reveal much more detail about what is planned and when.

Image: Cirium

Two stops to Australia for now

Turkish Airlines' Melbourne service will have two stops for the many passengers transferring to another flight at its enormous Istanbul Airport hub. This will make its offering less competitive than other airlines, at least for major cities, until its non-stop service begins using its forthcoming A350-1000s.

But, it is not quite this straightforward. Many smaller cities already require two stops to/from Australia, and Turkish Airlines' decent product – I have flown it quite a few times – will help it compete in such places. When it is finally non-stop, many cities will have a one-stop Melbourne option for the first time, a significant development.

Photo: ta_ha | Shutterstock

Examining booking data for the past year suggests that Melbourne-Türkiye had 70,000+ roundtrip passengers. If spread unfairly over 365 days, it means almost 200 passengers daily. This mainly reflects people living in Melbourne of Turkish heritage, with the carrier obviously well-positioned for this market.

Ignoring big cities and many other markets, Turkish Airlines will be able to easily capture passengers traveling to/from numerous cities in Türkiye and beyond, such as Skopje, Bucharest, Podgorica, Ankara, Izmir, Tirana, Sofia, Sarajevo, Adana, Belgrade, Zagreb, Porto, Catania, Thessaloniki, Gothenburg, Marseille, and many more. They all had pretty good Melbourne passengers in the past year.

What do you make of it all? Let us know in the comments.