• 

  Turkish Airlines

  IATA/ICAO Code:

  TK/THY

  Airline Type:

  Full Service Carrier

  Hub(s):

  Istanbul Airport

  Year Founded:

  1933

  Alliance:

  Star Alliance

  CEO:

  Bilal Ekşi

  Country:

  Turkey

Last week we covered the fact that Turkish Airlines would likely be taking all of the Airbus A350-900s built but never delivered to Russian airline Aeroflot. The confirmation for this came in the form of an A350 being spotted in an interesting hybrid livery. The jet featured the Turkish flag and Turkish Airlines wordmark across the side, but also having the appearance of Aeroflot's dark blue engines and tail (minus a few features). But will Turkish Airlines operate the aircraft in this "Turkoflot" appearance?

MSN 457

On May 20th, AIB Family Flights reported that the Airbus A350 with MSN 457 had been spotted in a hybrid livery. The aircraft, with test registration F-WZNJ, now has Turkish Airlines plastered across the front section of its fuselage, along with a small Turkish flag just to the side.

However, we also noted that the A350-900 lacks the white engine cowlings and bold red tail representative of Turkish Airlines' standard paint scheme. Instead, the aircraft has retained Aeroflot's solid dark blue on both the tail and engines. While the red and white bands representing the Russian flag have been covered over, the dark blue tail, and the deep grey that goes below it, are clear indications of the jet's previous customer.

Will this hybrid livery remain?

At first, it seemed that this half-Turkish-half-Aeroflot livery was merely a transitional stage that would eventually lead to a full Turkish Airlines color scheme. While Turkish Airlines operates a few of its aircraft in special liveries, its standard look (and even most special paint jobs) sport the red tail with the carrier's large logo painted in white.

Below is one of the rare instances of a Turkish Airlines aircraft not sporting the red and white tail.

Adding to this argument is the fact that special liveries often celebrate or promote something. Other than perhaps getting this A350 at a good price, there's not much else to celebrate or promote.

However, the fact that Turkey is holding on to its economic partnership with Russia introduces a bit of doubt to our initial hypothesis. The country has not imposed any sanctions against Russia while its firm and clear stance opposing Sweden and Finland's acceptance into the NATO alliance gives us further indication that the country is either just a little bit more "team Russia" or is at least making a comfortable spot for itself sitting "on the fence."

While the airline policy and government policy will vary depending on the ownership model, it's worth noting that 49% of the airline is owned by the Turkish government. And while none of this information is confirmation that the airline will keep its half-Aeroflot livery, its government's semi-friendly stance towards Russia might indicate that it is in no hurry to replace the aircraft's previous colors. Unfortunately, all of this means that we will just have to wait and see!

Aeroflot interior will remain

Despite the uncertainty of its outward appearance, many have been reporting that Turkish Airlines will retain the same cabin as was ordered by Aeroflot. As One Mile At A Time points out, aircraft cabins are typically ordered far in advance, and it's probably that these planes have already had their interiors installed.

While replacing a paint scheme is one thing, fully refitting an aircraft interior is another. Not only is a great deal of work involved, but the airline would then need to either sell or dispose of the previous seating. Indeed, it seems much simpler and more cost-effective to keep the Russian airline's cabin. From our February 2020 review of the seating, it actually doesn't look all that bad.

Sources: TASS, One Mile At A Time, AIB Family Flights