Turkish Airlines announced on Wednesday its intention to add scheduled commercial service to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) and Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW) to its growing route network. While no dates have officially been given yet, the airline has stated it plans to do so "based on market conditions," the routes are likely going to be up and running ahead of the busy summer season next year.

Turkish Airlines plans two new routes

Turkish Airlines has announced that it plans to start scheduled commercial flights to Seattle (SEA) and Detroit (DTW), subject to market conditions. Both of these cities currently do not have nonstop service to Turkey. Turkish Airlines will connect both cities to its hub at Istanbul Airport (IST).

Both of these cities are exciting additions to the carrier's route network. Neither are major partner hub cities but could be long-term, successful additions. Seattle, in particular, is a major business hub that has been able to sustain a variety of international long-haul services. Seattle would round out Turkish's West Coast flights, which presently include San Francisco (SFO) and Los Angeles (LAX).

Detroit is a more interesting addition. It has a metropolitan area population of over 4.3 million people, but it is mainly a hub for Delta Air Lines. However, there is some precedent for the airport sustaining long-haul services from non-Delta-aligned airlines. This includes Lufthansa, with flights to Frankfurt, and Royal Jordanian, with flights to Amman.

Turkish Airlines A330
Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying

What planes could Turkish use?

There are several options for flights to Seattle and Detroit. Seattle is likely to see service from a Boeing 787-9. Turkish has used the 787 to add flights to Vancouver, Canada, and Seattle is around the same length. The Boeing 787 was designed for such long-haul routes with improved economics.

Detroit is a smaller destination, and to unlock it at first, the Airbus A330 could be the right aircraft. The airline has already used it to make some other new routes work, like Dallas and Newark.

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Turkish will use the B787-9 to Narita. Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying.

Of course, in the long-haul fleet, Turkish also has the Airbus A350-900 and Boeing 777-300ER. These aircraft could also be used on either route, but they may have too many seats for Turkish Airlines to launch these routes with.

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Building out its connecting hub

Turkish Airlines has built up an enviable connecting hub from IST. Once it launches flights from Seattle and Detroit, passengers will be able to fly with just one stop to points in the Middle East, Africa, India, and Asia. The airline also does sell itineraries to Europe via a connection in Istanbul. However, there are plenty of flight options from Detroit and Seattle to places in Europe, either nonstop or with a single connection.

Turkish Airlines has been growing its US presence. It added flights to Newark earlier this year. It also announced plans to start flights to Denver and Dallas. The latter launched not too long ago. Denver flights have not been announced yet, however.

EC President Ursula Von der Leyen has accused Belarus of using desperate migrants as pawns in the political battle. Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying

Next year, Turkish Airlines has put the following cities on its schedule:

  • Atlanta (ATL)
  • Boston (BOS)
  • Chicago O'Hare (ORD)
  • Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW)
  • Houston (IAH)
  • Los Angeles (LAX)
  • Miami (MIA)
  • Newark (EWR)
  • New York (JFK)
  • San Francisco (SFO)
  • Washington D.C. (IAD)

With these 11 cities, plus the expected launch of Denver, Detroit, and Seattle, Turkish Airlines will fly to 14 destinations in the United States. As is evident from its flights to Atlanta and Dallas, for example, the airline has no qualms about entering hubs for other major airlines. In general, those flights have also been relatively successful, as seen by their continued inclusion on the airline's networks.

Detroit and Seattle are next in line to join the network, and they are likely to be announced soon. With travel restrictions continuing to come down, next year, airlines are looking at another release of strong, pent-up demand to far-away destinations, which Turkish Airlines can serve with a single stop.