Turkish Airlines has a new CEO and a lot to say. Ahmet Olmuştur, appointed in April after nearly a decade as the airline’s chief commercial officer, sat down with Forbes to lay out his plans for one of the world’s fastest-growing carriers — and the details are worth paying attention to if you fly Turkish or are watching the premium long-haul market.
The headline product news: Turkish’s new Crystal Business Class Suite begins rolling out in early 2027 on newly delivered Airbus A350s, followed by a retrofit program across the Boeing 777 fleet. The suite features a fully enclosed cabin with an adjustable door, electronically controlled privacy panel, marble-look side table, and wireless charging — Turkish’s first true enclosed suite product.
Premium economy is also coming, targeted for 2028 on widebody aircraft, with roughly 8-9% of current economy capacity potentially converted to the new cabin. Olmuştur cited internal research showing around two-thirds of long-haul passengers are willing to pay more for additional legroom and comfort — the same data point every other airline has used to justify the cabin, and the market keeps proving them right.
On fleet, Turkish is taking delivery of 10 aircraft in 2026 and 28 in 2027, with the first A350-1000 now expected in the third quarter of 2027 after delays pushed it from 2026. Up to 15 A350-1000s are expected by 2030, with eight of them earmarked for the planned nonstop Istanbul-Sydney and Istanbul-Melbourne services launching from 2028.
The airline’s 2033 targets remain intact: 800-plus aircraft, $50 billion in annual revenue, and 345 destinations. Olmuştur acknowledged the path needs to be “more adaptive and profitability-focused” given Middle East fuel volatility — the airline has cut its Middle East network by around 30% — but redirected that capacity toward stronger Far East and South Asia demand rather than sitting on it.
One practical note for travelers: a new Turkish Airlines lounge at JFK’s Terminal 1 is in the pipeline, and the Istanbul stopover program — free hotel stays of two to three nights for eligible passengers — continues to expand.
Why It Matters: Turkish is building toward being one of the world’s top three or four airlines by scale, and the Crystal Suite and premium economy additions mean the product is catching up with the ambition. If Istanbul is on your routing radar, the next two years are when this carrier gets genuinely interesting in premium cabins.
Source: New Turkish Airlines CEO Says Premium Economy Being Considered, Among Other Fleet Upgrades
