Director of Turkish Airlines, Spain

Mr. Kulcur, how would you describe the Turkish Airlines deal with Football Club Barcelona in terms of the airline commitment to the city of Barcelona?

We believe that there are 3 key points in order to be a global player and a great airline. Your costs should be low, but your quality must be high. You should also have a strong brand. We have these and now we have a brand name with Football Club Barcelona, which won 6 cups in one year and is one of the greatest clubs in the world. Turkish airlines and Barcelona have a partnership within this brand name and with the city of Barcelona. There is a Mediterranean soul and culture between Istanbul and Barcelona, so we feel closer to Barcelona. What I mean is that, even though Madrid is the capital, it has less weekly flights than Barcelona. This means Barcelona as a city is a good place where we can make money, improve relations and seize opportunities. We are ready to take part in events in Barcelona. For example, we sponsored Dinars Cambra, i.e. business lunches held every month, and we are the main sponsor of this event and the official carrier of the business bridge to Istanbul. We have good relations with Joan Clos, former mayor of Barcelona and former Spanish minister, so we are open to all types of participation in Barcelona. Last year, our transit rate was the same as that of other companies, but it is increasing rapidly... For example, many passengers from Barcelona are flying with Turkish Airlines to China, Thailand, Japan, etc.

We are better than other companies in some aspects. Culture is very important to us, so you can really feel the difference in the catering, for example. We invest heavily in catering so that our passengers feel the difference in flight catering. We really offer them a dinner, a proper lunch or breakfast. It is not just a snack, it is a proper meal and this is the main difference. Istanbul is a natural hub of the world and therefore it offers many advantages to passengers. The privileged geographical position of Istanbul offers our customers shorter journeys to Asia than many of our competitors. Apart from this, the economy of the flight is much better, as the longer the flights are, the more economical they become. A flight that is 3 hours long has a lower cost than a 2 hour flight, and as Barcelona is 3 hours and 30 minutes away, it is in the best position to make the flight economical, and we can offer low prices thanks to this.

What is the uptake on these flights? Are they always full for example? Is there scope to increase flights to and from Barcelona, would you say that the demand is there? And how do you think the sponsorship of Football Club Barcelona will affect this?

Countries make agreements to give each other slots. Between Turkey and Spain, we have 28 flights weekly. We currently use 14 of them from Barcelona and from the 1st of April, we will use 14 from Madrid. On Turkey’s and Turkish Airlines’ part, we will use all of them, so we need to renew the agreement between the two countries and then, increase the frequency. This is the only limit for us. On Turkey’s part we expect to increase it because there is a big demand in the market. Turkish Airlines is the only flier that has direct flights between Barcelona and Istanbul. Some other airlines are cancelling their flights to Istanbul and that means there is a big crisis for them, but not for us, as we are also launching new destinations. If we find an opportunity to increase our frequency, then we will do it. Not only in Barcelona, but also in other destinations around Spain and around the world. In many countries we are limited by these agreements as well.

In terms of accession to the EU, which obviously is a very big step as this can change the whole business of Turkish Airlines, what are your thoughts on this and how far away do you think we are from a decision? Are you actively pushing for this?

We think that we have a great friendship between Spain and Turkey. It is a big chance for us and Spain supports us. We expect to get closer to talks and accession and maybe, in the near future we will become a member. But it is not important for us as such, as we are acting like a member of the EU. We are trying to improve our economic figures because we want to be closer to our European counterparts, on the same level, even though we are not a member.

Since the announcement of your agreement with Barça, have you seen the immediate benefits? I.e. in the two weeks following the announcement, did you see an increase in sales for example?
We did not receive big demands mainly because this is off-peak season and the demand is quite low now. However, I know that Barça fans and the citizens of Barcelona will choose Turkish Airlines because we are part of the success of Football Club Barcelona. Not only F.C.B., we are ready to support other teams in Spain. As an airline, we can provide charter flights and many services. At the moment, we all know that F.C. Barcelona is the biggest team in Spain and we are proud to be its wings.

So what would happen for example in the Champions League if Barça had to play against Galatasaray? Next year, for example, if they qualify?

Barça is not only something commercial for us, but we also believe that, especially since Guardiola became coach, they are giving special added values that were never given before in football. Mainly, apart from supporting Turkish teams, we all support Barça as well.

But as a 49% state owned company, you could cause a political stir…
Half of us would support Barça and the other half the Turkish team. We would win either way.
Is there any truth in the rumour that you are planning a similar deal with Manchester United?
Yes, we have already done it. We announced it to the Turkish press yesterday. We made the same deal.

Was it more expensive?

The Manchester deal is a longer deal for 3 and a half to 4 years and the conditions are different, but if you look at it from the teams’ point of view, Barça gets more money and more out of Turkish Airlines. We are in touch with other teams in Russia and Ukraine and some other European countries. We will maybe have a deal with an Italian team. Manchester United is not the end; we want to invest in our brand name and establish relations with other teams from other countries.

What if Madrid wins the league this season?

If they want to cooperate with us, we are ready. We are ready to work with them. They can have the same opportunities as Barça. From a commercial point of view, sponsoring 2 teams in every country would be perfect; however, we have just started to become the sponsors of some teams, so we cannot do everything at once.