| James Kon |
A CODE-SHARING agreement conducted between Turkish Airlines and Royal Brunei Airlines (RB) is set to give a further boost to the bilateral ties between Brunei Darussalam and Turkey.
Under the code-sharing agreement which commenced on February 22, Turkish Airlines will add its ‘TK’ code to RB-operated flights from Bandar Seri Begawan to Dubai and vice-versa.
On a reciprocal basis, Royal Brunei Airlines will add its ‘BI’ code to TK flights from Istanbul to Dubai, and vice-versa.
In addition to an expected increase of tourists in Brunei, as well as providing more investment interests, the agreement should also help to raise the capacity of Royal Brunei Airlines.
In an interview, Turkish Ambassador to Brunei Darussalam, Fikret Oguz Ates gave his views on the benefits of the code-sharing agreement:
“The code-sharing agreement was actually signed last October in Turkey, and both airlines were happy with the achievement. At the moment, RB will fly its passengers to Dubai and then Turkish Airlines will take over the passengers heading to Istanbul.
“The signed agreement also signifies the trust that a major Turkish company – Turkish Airlines – has on Brunei’s economy and RB. We also see the agreement as an initial act to cooperate in air services between both countries, by which both airlines operating in different areas can expand cooperation.”
Ambassador of Turkey to Brunei Darussalam, Fikret Oguz Ates. – JAMES KON
As for the future, he said, “Besides Istanbul, we hope to increase the number of destinations on code-sharing in the future. For example, RB is flying to various destinations and Turkish Airlines can take over to connect to other countries.
“Turkish Airlines has 300 airplanes flying to 235 international destinations, as well as to 50 domestic destinations within Turkey. Altogether, 285 destinations. With the code-sharing, RB has the opportunity to connect to all the 235 international destinations, besides Turkey.”
In addition to an increase in the number of tourists, the Turkish ambassador also believes that the ease of travel between both countries will bring more business opportunities and potential investments.
“Currently, there are more Turkish business communities arriving in Brunei than tourists and the businessmen represent major Turkish companies,” he said.
Towards the end of the interview, the ambassador said that Turkey can also play a major role in Brunei’s economy diversification drive from oil and gas exports:
“We believe that there are many areas that Turkey can participate in Brunei’s efforts in diversification of economy. The areas that have the potential for cooperation are industry, agriculture, fisheries and trade as well as services.”
He also cited real estate as a potential for Brunei investors to explore in Turkey, where it is a booming business. As property prices show a tremendous climb because of growth rate, owning property in Istanbul may double in worth within a period of five years.
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