Turkish Airlines launches direct flights to Bali island

By Muhammed Ali Gurtas

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey's national flag carrier added Indonesia's world-famous holiday island Bali to its flight network, Turkish Airlines announced Wednesday.

The company noted that Istanbul-Bali direct flights would be operated seven times per week with introductory ticket prices starting at $748, all-inclusive.

"Bali, Indonesia's most popular holiday island, is flooded by tourists and explorers from all around the world every year," the airline said.

The island has become Turkish Airlines' second destination in Indonesia.

"Having operated with the airlines’ first Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft, which joined to its ever-expanding fleet a few weeks ago, TK 066 coded first flight was conducted with 84 percent load factor and carried 250 passengers," the company said.

Last month, Turkish Airlines took its new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner into service, naming the aircraft Macka -- the home district of 15-year-old Turkish citizen Eren Bulbul who was martyred by a PKK terrorist in 2017.

The name of the new aircraft was chosen by nearly 250,000 people via online survey on social media micro blogger Twitter.

Turkish Airlines, founded in 1933 with a five-aircraft fleet, currently has nearly 340 aircraft, including passenger and cargo planes, and flies to 312 destinations worldwide.

Last year, the company carried 75.2 million passengers with a seat occupancy rate of 82%, and this year aims to reach 80 million passengers on domestic and international routes.