Air China is launching a new nonstop route to Istanbul before the end of the year, marking the Turkish gateway’s second new connection to mainland China in the past three months.
The airline has filed plans to commence service between Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) and Istanbul Airport (IST) on Dec. 29. According to data provided by OAG Schedules Analyser, the 4,385-mi. (3,810-nm) route will operate three times per week using Airbus A330-200 aircraft.
Air China’s planned entry to the market follows China Eastern Airlines inaugurating flights to Istanbul on Sept. 28 with a 3X-weekly service from Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG). This came after the SkyTeam member signed a memorandum of understanding with Turkish Airlines, agreeing to cooperate more closely.
Air China will become the third carrier to connect Beijing and Istanbul on a city-pair basis once flights begin. The carrier’s Star Alliance partner Turkish Airlines already serves the PEK-IST market, offering daily flights onboard Boeing 777-300ER equipment. China Southern Airlines also connects the destinations, flying from Beijing Daxing International Airport to IST three times per week with A330s.
From early January, Air China will offer about 1,422 two-way seats between the cities, giving it a 17.7% capacity share. Turkish Airlines commands the largest share with 61% of capacity, with China Southern accounting for the remaining 21.3%. Overall, there will be about 8,000 two-way seats between Istanbul and Beijing, marking a rise of about 22% on levels seen before the pandemic.
Air China handled 10.4 million passengers in November 2023, up by 11.4% on the same month in 2019. However, international traffic was 41% lower at 803,300 passengers.
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