Star Alliance carrier Turkish Airlines is launching flights between Istanbul and Australia for the first time in a couple of months from now, and for the time being at least that means the airline needs to make an intermediate stop in Asia, with Singapore chosen as the stopover point on this 14,000km journey.

That will see an Istanbul – Singapore – Melbourne route operating three days per week, initially using the carrier’s Boeing 787-9 aircraft, which are configured with 300 seats; 30 in Business Class and 270 in Economy Class.

After two weeks, the Dreamliners are swapped out for Turkish’s Airbus A350-900s, offering an even higher capacity with 329 seats, 32 of which are in Business Class.

Crucially, the airline has secured “fifth freedom” traffic rights between Singapore and Melbourne, allowing it to carry passengers solely between these two cities, without the need to be flying all the way to or from Istanbul.

That will give Lion City residents a sixth airline option to and from Melbourne, with flights already operated by Emirates, Qantas, Jetstar, Scoot and Singapore Airlines. Emirates also taps “fifth freedom” approval for its flights between Singapore and Melbourne.

Melbourne will be the 346th destination for Turkish Airlines, with Australia becoming its 130th country served.

“We are excited to add Melbourne as our 346th destination to our flight network. Australia, with its natural beauty and hospitable people, becomes the 130th country and 6th continent under our wings.”

Turkish Airlines

The schedule

For the first two weeks of operation, Boeing 787 flights will operate three times weekly leaving Istanbul on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, which means Singapore – Melbourne – Singapore operation on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

Here’s how the schedule looks for the late March 2024 period.

Istanbul Singapore Melbourne
15 Mar 2024 – 30 Mar 2024

			Days
			M	T	W	T	F	S	S
	TK168 787-9
IST 17:30		SIN 08:50*
Duration: 10:20
	TK168 787-9
SIN 10:20		MEL 20:40
Duration: 07:20
	TK169 787-9
MEL 22:30		SIN 03:00*
Duration: 07:30
	TK169 787-9
SIN 04:30		IST 11:15
Duration: 11:45

* Next day

Once the northern summer schedule kicks in from April 2024, flights will continue to operate three times weekly, but the days of operation change, along with an equipment shift to the Airbus A350-900.

TK168 will then leave Istanbul on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays, which means Singapore – Melbourne – Singapore operation on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.

Istanbul Singapore Melbourne
2 Apr 2024 – 26 Oct 2024

			Days
			M	T	W	T	F	S	S
	TK168 A350-900
IST 17:00		SIN 08:45*
Duration: 10:45
	TK168 A350-900
SIN 10:15		MEL 19:40
Duration: 07:25
	TK169 A350-900
MEL 21:20		SIN 02:50*
Duration: 07:30
	TK169 A350-900
SIN 04:30		IST 10:40
Duration: 11:10

* Next day

While it’s a nice daytime service from Singapore to Melbourne, timings on the return leg back to the Lion City are a bit painful, with a night time departure followed by arrival at 3am.

For Singapore – Istanbul passengers, TK169 also presents a bleary-eyed 4.30am departure timing, which won’t rank high up there in the popularity stakes.

Turkish Airlines will continue to offer a daily Istanbul – Singapore – Istanbul service TK54/55 using Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, supplemented by a four times weekly TK208/209 flight using Boeing 787-9s, for a total of 14 weekly services on that route, including these new flights that also serve Melbourne.

Business Class

Whether you travel on one of the early season Boeing 787-9s or the more permanent Airbus A350-900s with Turkish Airlines on this route, you’ll have the carrier’s latest Business Class product on board.

This is in the form of the Stelia Symphony seats first introduced by Singapore Airlines as its 2018 Regional Business Class product, so it’s already a familiar setup for many of our readers.

Seats are in a staggered 1-2-1 configuration, offering direct aisle access for all Business Class passengers, unlike the older dated 2-3-2 layout you’ll find on the carrier’s Boeing 777-300ERs.

There’s also free Wi-Fi in Business Class, and an 18-inch IFE screen for entertainment.

Most of all though, Turkish Airlines is known for its high quality food, with an onboard chef helping to prepare the meals for Business Class passengers.

Which lounge?

Turkish Airlines uses Terminal 1 at Singapore Changi Airport, and these Melbourne flights will be no exception.

The carrier directs its lounge-eligible passengers to use the Marhaba Lounge prior to departure, which is a decent enough third-party facility we recently reviewed.

There are no Star Alliance lounges in Changi T1, following the permanent closure of the Thai Airways Royal Orchid Lounge, but there’s nothing to stop eligible Turkish Airlines passengers from taking the SkyTrain to T3 or T2 to use the Singapore Airlines SilverKris lounges, thanks to the carrier’s Star Alliance membership.

With over 90 minutes on the ground in Singapore in each direction, even those flying all the way between Turkey and Australia have time to head over to the SIA lounges during their transit, if they wish.

At the Melbourne end of the route, eligible passengers will have access to the Air New Zealand lounge and the Singapore Airlines SilverKris lounge prior to departure on TK169, but due to gaps in the opening hours of both facilities, Turkish may select a third-party lounge.

Tickets go on sale today

Turkish Airlines is progressively releasing tickets for sale on this new route today, including those between Singapore and Melbourne for “fifth freedom” travellers.

So far only some (fairly extortionate) flexible Economy Class fares have appeared, with Business Class availability still zeroed-out at the time of writing, but do keep an eye out on the airline’s website to check the fares and availability later, once it is fully loaded.

Of course we’ll also be watching out for all-important award space on this route in due course.

With a very short booking window between now and mid-March, flights in the first few weeks on this new route could be particularly empty, so award space might be generous.

Will it last?

While Turkish Airlines’ new found presence in the Australia market is likely to be a long-term feature, the Singapore stopover may not have so much runway.

Last year, Turkish Airlines ordered long-range Airbus A350-1000 aircraft, which will be capable of operating non-stop between Istanbul and Australian cities, and the airline is making no secret of its desire to cut out the Asian stopover as soon as it can.

“In the next few years, Turkish Airlines aims to organize direct flights to Melbourne and other potential cities in [Australia] with the acquisition of new aircraft capable of operating non-stop flights between Istanbul and Melbourne.”

Turkish Airlines

The carrier’s Singapore – Melbourne link is therefore likely to be around only for a few years, which makes sense because for Turkish to be competitive on the Australia – Europe market, a one-stop option via Istanbul will be essential.

Turkish Airlines is launching three times weekly flights from Istanbul to Melbourne in Australia, and these will transit through Singapore in both directions, initially using Boeing 787-9s but later Airbus A350s.

The airline has also secured crucial “fifth freedom” traffic rights between Singapore and Melbourne, meaning you can book tickets or redeem miles on flights solely between these two cities, without having to be on board to or from Istanbul.

Turkish will be the sixth airline option on the Melbourne route from Changi.

(Cover Photo: Abdul Quraishi / Shutterstock)