I wrote yesterday about "Fashion at Turkish Airlines"; once on the topic of THY, one of the more interesting and symbolic of Turkish institutions, a few more facts:
- It serves alcohol but not pork products, an oddity I documented recently in "Talking Turkey." This dates from before the AKP era began, because pork is far more offensive to Muslim sensibilities than alcohol.
- It offers kosher, Hindu, and Jain meals.
- The Turkish government owns 49 percent of THY's stock and, according to Orçun Selçuk, writing in Today's Zaman, the airline "is openly used by the government as a tool to buttress the expansion of its foreign policy." In addition, he writes, it serves "as a tool of soft power aimed at increasing the attraction of Turkey among foreign publics."
- It takes pride in being "Europe's Best Airline" as judged by Skytrax, a British consultancy group.
- Its main business class lounge, at Istanbul Atatürk Airport, is (in this traveler's view) by far the world's most outstanding, what with its innovative design, its children's play area, library, billiard table, television panel, movie theater, piano bar, mosque, showers, sleeping suites, and the range and quality of foods. It has a capacity of 2,000 guests. Indeed, the American Express magazine Departures featured the THY lounge as #14 of its 100 "peoples, places & things that matter in 2013."
 "Departures" celebrates the THY lounge in Istanbul. |
And then to the day's news: THY has long served alcohol on some flights but not other ones, such as to Iran, Saudi Arabia, and some other Arab countries. According to an article today in Hürriyet Daily News, alcohol service on THY is about to change:
Alcohol will no longer be served on domestic routes other than those involving six cities (Istanbul, Izmir, Bodrum, Dalaman, Antalya and Ankara), reasoning that demand is too low to justify the service.
The good life on Turkish Airlines, coming to an end.
- An informal boycott is underway: "Recently, THY aroused public criticism with several passengers having reported that when they asked for alcoholic drinks the cabin crew denied their requests, saying that alcohol had been forgotten to be loaded with the plane's cargo."
Comment: (1) As with fashion, the drip-drip-drip, indirect process of transforming THY continues, citing such matters as "low demand" and "forgotten to be loaded." (2) THY boasts of a network that goes to more countries than any other airline, 91 countries vs. Air France's 88. Which raises the question: Must an airline with global aspirations serve alcohol? (February 11, 2013)
Nov. 2, 2014 update: The Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago, an Islamist organization, is pleased to announce that Turkish Airlines is sponsoring CIOGC's 22nd Annual CommUnity Dinner (note the capital "U") today.
 Turkish Airlines sponsors the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago dinner. |
