Turkish Airlines has ambitious plans ahead for the future. The airline is already one of the biggest in the world, operating practically like one of the three Middle Eastern carriers (Emirates, Etihad, Qatar) with a superconnector hub in Istanbul, but the hub’s location is quite close to Europe. It allows the carrier to serve European destinations with narrowbody aircraft at high frequency, while still having a geographically central location for connections.

In the future, however, Turkish Airlines will be rapidly growing its fleet and network while introducing new seating products. Simple Flying had the opportunity to sit down with Murat Şeker, Turkish Airlines’ Chair of the Board and the Executive Committee, to ask questions about the carrier’s future fleet strategy.

We have already written about Turkish Airlines’ plans to launch new ultra-long-haul flights with the Airbus A350-1000. However, Şeker also provided additional insights into the airline’s plans to refresh its current interiors, using a new seat developed by an in-house subsidiary.

The Upcoming Turkish Airlines Business Class Seat

Credit: TCI Aircraft Interiors

Şeker confirmed that Turkish Airlines will soon begin installing a new business class seat developed by its in-house subsidiary TCI Aircraft Interiors. When speaking about it, Şeker stated that “the newly designed business class by our own subsidiary, TCI, has been kind of combining all the information and providing a product with better leg space, better screen HDs, and then more privacy. It will have a private door, a complete privacy experience, and then you know the more light colors.“

Turkish Airlines will be using the TCA ‘Crystal’ business class seat, which is essentially a staggered model with a honeymoon option in every other row for the center suite pairs. Visually, it strongly resembles the Safran Unity, Collins Aerospace Horizon, Stelia Rendez-Vous, and the Elevate Summit. As Şeker stated, Turkish Airlines’ version of the seat will offer sliding privacy doors, as well as larger screens. Presumably, it should also offer features like USB-C ports and wireless charging pads.

Turkish Airlines’ new business class suite should debut in 2027 on new-delivery Airbus A350s, with the carrier hoping to get the seats line-fit by Airbus shortly after their introduction. TCI advertises that these seats can be installed with a pitch of just 44 inches (111.8 cm), which is fairly efficient for a flagship business seat. Undoubtedly, the biggest benefit, however, is that Turkish Airlines will be less affected by the supply-chain constraints impacting larger manufacturers.

Turkish Airlines’ Current Business Class Seats

Credit: Turkish Airlines

Turkish Airlines currently has several business class seats on its widebody aircraft. Most of the Airbus A330s feature Safran or Stelia lie-flat seats configured six-abreast, while the airline also has a subfleet of A330-300s with recliner seats. All of the Boeing 777-300ERs feature Safran lie-flat seats configured seven-abreast. The airline has four Airbus A350-900s with the Collins Aerospace Horizon, as these were originally intended for Aeroflot and retain the Russian carrier’s interiors.

The remaining A350-900s feature the Stelia Symphony for business class, as do all of Turkish Airlines’ Boeing 787-9s. The new TCI seat is expected to be installed on the A350 from 2027 onwards and will be featured on all of its upcoming A350-1000s. The first of these will arrive in July, and two more will arrive by the end of the year, while the TCI seat will be line-fitted by Airbus starting in 2028. In addition, Turkish Airlines plans to retrofit some of its Boeing 777-300ERs, while others will be retired.

Turkish Airlines’ business class is well-regarded for the quality of the onboard catering and service, but the actual seats themselves are inconsistent. Many of the carrier’s widebody aircraft do not offer direct aisle access, while only four aircraft offer individual suites with sliding doors. The new TCI seat should be Turkish Airlines’ most competitive seat yet, and with some older aircraft being retired, the overall experience of flying business class with the carrier will be significantly improved.

The Return Of Premium Economy

Credit: TCI Aircraft Interiors

In the same interview, Şeker confirmed that the airline will be bringing back premium economy. Turkish Airlines previously installed a ‘Comfort Class’ on select aircraft, but it didn’t make money from the cabin as the product wasn’t widely available, while the cabin sizes were huge in comparison to business class. In 2013, the airline announced that it would discontinue Comfort Class. The ex-Aeroflot A350s do feature premium economy seats, but these are sold as extra legroom economy seats today.

The initial planes with the new business class seats coming in 2027 will not feature premium economy, but Turkish Airlines will install the cabin on new A350 deliveries starting in 2028. In addition, the airline has a batch of 35 Boeing 787s to start arriving in 2029, and those will likely feature premium economy, along with retrofitted 777-300ERs. This move also comes as part of a general strategy to increase premium cabin sizes, given how popular business and premium economy are with passengers today.

TCI Aircraft Interiors sells the Royalux in addition to Crystal, which is specifically marketed as either a narrowbody business class seat or a widebody premium economy seat. It’s advertised with features like privacy wings, USB-A and C ports, integration for a 15.6-inch (39.6 cm) monitor, a six-way adjustable headrest, and up to ten inches (25.4 cm) of recline. The seat is also offered with options such as wireless charging, footrests, and additional storage space compared to rival models.

Turkish Airlines’ Fleet Growth

Credit: Channing Reid I Simple Flying

As it stands, Turkish Airlines operates 387 passenger aircraft, plus 22 freighters. However, Şeker stated that the airline aims to grow to 560 aircraft by year’s end, a highly ambitious target. Most of the growth is expected to come from narrowbody aircraft, or more specifically, the 190 Airbus A321neos that Turkish Airlines has on order. The carrier also has three more 787-9s meant to come shortly from its current batch, along with 56 outstanding orders for A350-900s.

In 2027, Turkish Airlines will begin taking the first of 15 A350-1000s, eight of which will be in an ultra-long-haul configuration with 60 to 66 business class seats. Şeker referred to the plane as the 1000ULR, although it’s unclear if he meant the A350-1000ULR that Qantas has ordered for Project Sunrise.

Given that Qantas has reportedly secured an exclusivity deal for the aircraft, it’s likely that ‘1000ULR’ is the airline’s internal code for this subfleet with a gross weight of 322 tons, but that the planes will lack the A350-1000ULR’s Rear Centre Tank. In addition to these planes, seven A350-1000s will be in a denser layout with 42 to 48 business class seats for shorter routes.

Turkish Airlines holds outstanding orders for 100 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, to be split between the MAX 8 and MAX 10, and the next batch of 787s will also include 15 787-10s. With new deliveries, some older planes, including A330-300s and 777-300ERs, will be retired. Şeker has also confirmed that the airline is looking at the Boeing 777X. In total, Turkish Airlines hopes to operate around 800 aircraft by 2033.

Future Network Growth For Turkish Airlines

Credit: Turkish Airlines

Turkish Airlines currently serves 14 destinations in the United States. In the near future, the carrier is mainly focusing on increasing frequency to these destinations rather than adding new spokes, although it will still open up some new routes as more widebodies come in. Şeker specifically called out Philadelphia and Orlando as two spokes that Turkish Airlines is looking to serve in the US.

The eight A350-1000s with the larger business class cabin and 322-ton gross weight option will be used to launch nonstop services from Istanbul to Sydney. With eight ULR-configured aircraft, Turkish Airlines may also be able to launch services to Melbourne, and is eying nonstop flights to South America as well. Meanwhile, the carrier will have over 100 A350s in total, along with 80 787s, while some of the A330s and 777-300ERs will remain in the fleet.

Unlike the three Middle Eastern carriers that Turkish Airlines competes against heavily, the airline has not been dramatically impacted by the war in Iran. Türkiye’s geographic location has allowed Turkish Airlines to continue operating its flights with mild detours, while still operating most of its flights. Meanwhile, Şeker also stated that Turkish Airlines’ fuel bill has only seen a small increase.