Yol Gidenindir !

During the past 12mts, I saw and read more news about 'cracks' in the wings of A380s, and finally,  EASA has ordered all operators (airlines) to check their A380 s. Now all of these operators are conducting checks by grounding their A380 fleet for a while. This reminds me of the story of  DC10 ... DC10 has been produced by McDonald Douglas in the 70s and marketed as the game-changer aircraft. The company was in a race with Boeing to produce a high capacity long range aircraft. They have introduced DC10 to the market before the legendary Boeing 747 Jumbo Jet. However, these two aircraft had different stories; after a couple of emergency landings and crashes, including one of the most fatal air disasters in aviation history ( TK891 Paris-London), DC10 disappeared from the market in the 80s while the 747 is still in use and its new generation 747-800 model had been introduced last year. Lufthansa had just received the very first passenger version of it last month. A very simil

This is a good sign for B737-MAX and proof that Boeing is slowly balancing the A320 NEO v.s. B737-MAX game... gulfnews: United puts final touches on huge 737 order

The UK airline is training its flight attendants in the art of speaking quietly in time for the launch of its Upper-Class Dream Suite, which is equivalent to a Premium Business Class. As far as I know, a quiet and announcement-free premium cabin is one of the criteria to get a 5-star rating in Skytrax. Well, if you pay that much amount of money, you expect more... However, this move of Virgin Atlantic is raising the bar, and I think all airlines should consider this. You may read the spotting at Springwise and discover Upper-Class Dream Suite here .

Abu Dhabi International Airport Celebrates 30 Years of Success

European unease over Etihad stake in Air Berlin - The National The acquisition by Etihad Airways ( EY ) of a bigger stake in Air Berlin ( AB ) is likely to stir tensions among European airlines concerned about the expansion of Gulf carriers into their home territory. There is another article from the NY Times about the same topic; Etihad and Air Berlin Form an Alliance

Planemakers fight it out with new narrow-body aircraft. gulfnews: Boeing-Airbus face off in a new war They are fighting for the narrow-body market by introducing upgraded versions of their existing models. I wonder who will design a completely new aircraft for this segment?

Etihad strikes $2.8bn Dream deal - The National Etihad Airways is set to become the largest operator of Boeing's fuel-efficient 787-9 Dreamliner after ordering 10 of the aircraft and two 777 freighters from the planemaker in a deal valued at US$2.8 billion (Dh10.28bn) at list prices. Carrying up to 300 passengers and over a range of 8,000 nautical miles, the 787-9, the longer version of the 787, will initially be used on routes to Dublin, Frankfurt, Istanbul , Kuala Lumpur, Beijing, Nagoya, and Delhi. In line with this; Million a month use Abu Dhabi airport - The National   Abu Dhabi International Airport ( AUH ) expects to handle 12 million travelers this year and says 1 million passengers a month will become the norm. The increase was attributed to the arrival of airlines such as Cathay Pacific , V Australia , and Czech Airlines , along with increased frequencies and new destinations launched by existing carriers. Mr. Bennett (CEO of ADAC) said Etihad Airways had "continued

gulfnews: Midfield terminal Bids submitted for Abu Dhabi airport facility Construction will start in 2012 and finish in 2016. Terminal Complex, which will be the new home of  Etihad , will be operational as of 2017. What a coincidence that  Emirates  is planning to shift its operations to the new Dubai World Central (DWC) as of 2017.

Most Annoying Airline Delays Might Just Be in the Boarding by Jad Mouawad (NYT) Boarding times at airports have doubled since the 1970s, prompting airlines to try all kinds of elaborate tricks to get passengers in speedily and leave the gate on time. Here is the link for the full article. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/01/business/airlines-are-trying-to-cut-boarding-times-on-planes.html So what is the best way to do this? Start from the last row, in sectors/zones like many airlines does or the first window and then aisle seats? Ryanair has the quickest turn-around time in the aviation industry as they board passengers from the rear door while off-loading the previous flight passengers from the front door or v.v. as they don't have any pre-assigned seats. At SunExpress, we were using the zone system and inviting the rear seats first, then mid, and finally the front. However, if you are in an airport with poor facilities, your passengers had squeezed in the waiting lounge, or there i

Boeing's Dreamliner begins first commercial flight today, 26 October. The All Nippon Airlines (ANA) flight is carrying its first passengers from Tokyo to Hong Kong. Despite the delay of 3 years, which is a quite long time for airlines, I am happy to see B787 is on air. Personally, I like to experience it as soon as possible. This aircraft is one of the two aircraft planned for the future of aviation based on different strategies. A380 and B787 were the products of rival strategies. Then we learned about A350-1000 and B747-800 ;) Full article of BBC is here ... Bon Voyage B787 !

Abu Dhabi Airports Company to Host World’s Largest Air Transport Networking Event in Abu Dhabi

The decision by the executives of Airbus last year to offer a re-engined version of the A320 single-aisle jet from 2015, rather than going for an entirely redesigned plane, seems to be paying off. Boeing is still hesitating to go for a simple re-engining of its rival plane, the 737, or a complete redesign. Full article and pictures are available in ' The Economist '

Boeing cannot see any "compelling reason" to follow its European rival Airbus and offer a new engine upgrade for its best-selling single-aisle passenger jets, the US Company has revealed. A keenly anticipated €1 billion plan Airbus announced last week to offer new engines on its A320 family of jets from 2016 would be costly and complex, said Jim Albaugh, head of Boeing's commercial aircraft division. It would only add " a few percent " in financial benefits for airlines. " We certainly can't see a compelling reason to do it " he said in an interview with FT . Well, this is the second major disagreement between two major aircraft producers since the announcement of the  A380 project. Airbus supported the case of bigger aircraft on major routes and feeder/de-feeder to/from hubs while Boeing supported the case of more direct flights between several cities, which perfectly in-line with ıts B787 strategy. Today, this is still an open discussion. As lo

New aircraft, nice surprises, same old value prices...   It is on air... after 3 years of long studies and a year-long rebranding process, we launched the new SunExpress yesterday, in Antalya, with the participation of more than 3.000 people. The event's crescendo was the arrival of the 22nd aircraft, a B737-800 NG, which is a direct purchase from Boeing.   For the question "What's new at SunExpress?" the answer is here;  http://www.sunexpress.com/xq-tr/en/flight-info/the-new-sunexpress.jsp It will take almost a year to paint the fleet and change every brand item, but renewed services and concepts will be on the air as of May 2010. I hope you will experience it soon and enjoy!

Have you ever re-branded a brand? Have you ever gone through this process? I think a few of you may answer; yes!    In an airline, you start with the aircraft as it is the king, but then you start thinking and working on maybe hundreds of items from the small salt package in the cabin to the new meal concept, from website to the in-flight entertainment system, from uniforms to logo itself... This is what is going on now at SunExpress ... a German branding agency, a German communication & corporate design agency, a local Turkish creative agency, two media planning agencies, a Turkish PR agency, a German interactive agency, and an e-commerce consultant are working with us to make it possible, to make a dream true.   Personally, I am so excited to be a part of it and one of the key figures. I have launched the  SWISS brand in Turkey before, but that was the local implementation of a global concept by Winkreative of Tyler Brûlé.  This is completely different! Hope you will like it

    It is simply impossible for such a city not to impress artists and people. From literature to plastic arts, from music to stage performances, Istanbul has always been an inspiration to artists. SunExpress is among the lucky companies to have its great Istanbul experience.  SunExpress is flying from Istanbul Sabiha Gökcen base since April 2008 and already charmed with this magnificent city. The “Paint Book” aircraft is a very special project, a way of contributing to the promotion of this city. The unique livery design is a simple, uncomplicated yet quite diverse and strong visualization of Istanbul. The different images on the aircraft are the individual drawings of the Turkish and German artists after being asked their impressions of Istanbul. “ Impressions of Istanbul by SunExpress ” as we wrote on top of our aircraft, is a testament to Istanbul’s impact on plastic arts. Istanbul aircraft will be in Istanbul SAW on the 26th of February and serve domestic and European destinations

We have organized an inaugural flight from İzmir to Athens , the new international destination of SunExpress, on 04 August 2009. Here is the memoir which we have presented to our passengers on this first flight;   04 Ağustos 2009 günü SunExpress'in yeni dış hat uçuş noktası olan Atina 'ya İzmir'den bir "açılış" uçuşu organize ettik. Bu ilk uçuşta yolcularımıza sunduğumuz hatıra ise aşağıda; Flights are on Tuesdays and Saturdays, for now. Tickets starting from €49 . For further information and reservation; Uçuşlar şimdilik Salı ve Cumartesi günleri. Biletler 49€ 'dan başlıyor. Detaylı bilgi ve rezervasyon için; http://www.sunexpress.com/

After a long break, I am back in the airline business.  As of today, I have joined SunExpress, which is a Joint Venture of Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines, as Corporate Marketing Manager. It is quite interesting and exciting that I have an airline brand after my Swissair times :)     Uzun bir aradan sonra havayollarına geri döndüm. Bugün itibariyle Lufthansa ve Türk Hava Yolları Ortak Girişimi olan SunExpress'e Kurumsal Pazarlama Müdürü olarak katıldım. Swissair zamanlarımdan sonra bir havayolu markam olması oldukça ilginç ve heyecan verici :)