THY Switches Senegal Flight to New Aircraft

Turkish Airlines (THY) has reduced capacity between Istanbul Ataturk and the Senegalese capital Dakar replacing a widebody Airbus A330 on its three times weekly service with a smaller Boeing 737-800. The flight is now making a technical stop on the outbound leg in Tunis. However, later this year the carrier will take delivery of its new longer-range Boeing 737-900ER variants and these are expected to be used on some of its flights to Africa.

We reported earlier this month that the carrier planned to use its 737-900ERs on its flights from Istanbul Ataturk to Nairobi and Dar es Salaam from March 25, 2012 but that the carrier had not yet formalised the entry into service of the type. It now emerges that Dakar could be the first destination for the aircraft, the largest version of the single-aisle airliner, with November 24 tentatively set for its introduction on this route.

According to Boeing, THY currently has 34 737s on order including 15 -900ERs from a February 2010 order for ten aircraft and a March 2011 commitment for five more. The -900ER can seat up to 215 passengers in a single-class configuration, although THY is likely to configure its aircraft in a two class arrangement, especially if they are going to be used on long-sector flights.

Schedule:

TK627 IST1855 – 1945TUN2025 – 0105+1DKR 738 247
TK628 DKR0205 – 1150IST 738 135