Air China is creating a new direct flight service to Istanbul before the new year. This will be the second new connection established from mainland China to Turkey in the past three months. In this context, Air China's direct connection between Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) and Istanbul Airport (IST) will start on December 29. According to information provided by the relevant authorities, an Airbus A330-200 will operate this route three times a week.
Air China's entry into this market follows China Eastern Airlines, which has operated three flights to Istanbul from Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG) since September 28. The move follows Sky Team members signing an agreement with Turkish Airlines for closer cooperation.
The flights, which will start before the end of the year, will make Air China the third company directly connecting Beijing and Istanbul. Star Alliance partner Turkish Airlines already provides PEK-IST connection every day with its Boeing-330ER aircraft. On the other hand, China Southern Airlines connects these two destinations by operating three A330s per week between Beijing Daxing International Airport and IST.
Starting from 2024, Air China will increase its passenger capacity to 422 percent by providing approximately 17,7 more seats per week to and from both cities. In this context, Turkish Airlines has the largest share of passenger capacity with 61 percent, while China Southern holds the remaining 21,3 percent. In total, approximately 8 thousand passengers per week will be carried between Istanbul and Beijing in two directions, exceeding the pre-pandemic level by 22 percent.