Turkish Airlines to Equip Dreamliner and Airbus A350 With New 'High Privacy' Business-Class Seats
Look out, world — suites are taking over the forward cabin. On the heels of Qatar's QSuite, Delta One Suites and over-the-top iterations from Singapore Airlines and Emirates, there's word that upgrades are coming to select aircraft flown by Turkish Airlines. In a recent Australian Business Traveller report, the airline has confirmed that it will bring an all-new business-class seat to its forthcoming Boeing 787 Dreamliner and Airbus A350 jets.
When the carrier's first Dreamliner arrives in 2019, it'll boast a 1-2-1 business class layout — a huge upgrade from the dated 2-2-2 (and even 2-3-2 on some birds) layout. Turkish Airlines' Chief Marketing Officer Ahmet Olmuştur had this to say: "Our new business-class product will have [a] 1-2-1 seating layout instead [of] the existing and will be featured both in the new Boeing 787 and the new Airbus A350 jets. The design will be applied to the first-received Boeing 787 jets in 2019."
While Olmuştur stopped short of dishing out any design clues, he did emphasize that "high privacy is our priority," stating that Turkish Airlines is working with its design partner "for many different features such as individual enclosed storage areas and 44-inch knee distance." You don't have to reach far to envision that coming to fruition in the form of a seat with a sliding door.
Unlike Delta, which is refurbishing some of its Boeing 777s to include Delta One Suites, Turkish Airlines doesn't plan on retrofitting its current fleet of Airbus A330/A340 and Boeing 777 aircraft to match the incoming Dreamliner and A350. Rather, it's eying "a different retrofit project for the existing widebodies."
All told, Turkish Airlines has plans to take delivery of up to 30 Dreamliners and 30 Airbus A350-900s by 2024. Pair that with the opening of Istanbul's new airport this autumn — where Turkish Airlines will add an "Exclusive Lounge" — and you've more reason than ever to consider TK for upcoming business travel.
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