As airlines continue to receive their first Airbus A350 aircraft, Turkish Airlines has published their A350 schedule. The schedule will see the aircraft flying from Turkey to London and Dubai starting in April according to Routes Online.

Turkish Airlines Airbus A350
Turkish Airlines has announced its Airbus A350 routes. Image: Airbus

Just over a year ago, Turkish Airlines signed a memorandum of understanding with Airbus regarding the Airbus A350 program. The order was for 25 Airbus A350 aircraft, in addition to options for five more. Airbus is an important manufacturer for Turkish Airlines, with 55% of the airline's fleet of 293 being made up of Airbus planes. The rest are, of course, Boeing aircraft.

London flights

Turkish Airlines will be operating the Airbus A350 to two major aviation hubs; London and Dubai. The flights will operate daily, and it looks as though London will receive flights first, followed by Dubai.

Turkish Airlines Airbus A350 London
The Turkish A350 will join the A320 family and the Boeing 777 at Heathrow. Photo: London Heathrow Airport

Turkish Airlines will operate a mix of aircraft between Istanbul (IST) and London, including the Airbus A320 family, the Boeing 777 and the Airbus A350. The London flights will commence on the 13th of April, and will follow the following schedule:

  • TK1985 will depart from Istanbul at 1300 local time. Following a 3 hour 50 minute flight, the A350 will touch down at London Heathrow at 1450 local.
  • TK1986 is the return flight departing London Heathrow at 1630. The flight time to Turkey is 3 hours 45 minutes, with the A350 landing at 2215.

Dubai flights

Dubai flights will follow the next day, commencing on 14th of April 2020. While Turkish Airlines has eight flights a day between London and Istanbul (IST) scheduled, the carrier only has two daily Dubai flights scheduled. The Airbus A350 will complement the Boeing 777 on this route.

Turkish Airlines Dubai
Turkish Airlines will operate the A350 to Dubai alongside the Boeing 777 (pictured). Photo: Boeing

The daily Airbus A350 flight from Istanbul to Dubai will follow the following schedule:

  • TK762 will depart from Istanbul at 0010. After a 4 hour 35 minutes night flight, the Airbus A350 touches down in Dubai at 0545 local.
  • TK763 departs Dubai at 0720, 95 minutes after landing. After a 4 hour 45 flight, the aircraft touches back down in Istanbul at 1105.

As such, it is feasible that one Airbus A350 could operate both flights in a day. It's unclear whether Turkish Airlines will operate one or two aircraft on this rotation.

A350 hubs

Both London and Dubai are going to be seeing their fair share of A350 action. Indeed, British Airways will be flying between London and Dubai with the Airbus A350 once the aircraft enters long haul service. A passenger could fly an A350 triangle route visiting London, Dubai, and Istanbul with BA and Turkish.

London will also have Virgin Atlantic's' Airbus A350 aircraft operating from later this year. In fact, both the British Airways and Virgin Atlantic A350s have just entered the paint shop in Toulouse and Hamburg respectively.

Would you fly on one of Turkish Airlines' Airbus A350 routes? Let us know in the comments!