Turkish Airlines opens Maldives route

Turkish Airlines (THY) began flights between Istanbul and the Maldive Islands on Sunday, inaugurating a route which will see five outbound and five inbound flights between Istanbul and the Indian Ocean destination per week. The addition of the route comes following the company's decision to open routes last month to the Egyptian cities of Sharm el-Sheikh and Hurghada and as the airline positions itself to become one of the largest carriers in Europe and the Middle East. Last month also saw the airline post a record profit of TL 868 million ($480.8 million) in the first three quarters of 2012, a sevenfold increase over the same period a year ago. The Maldives route will make the small island republic the 88th destination country for the airline, which has seen its number of passengers jump by 20 percent to 29.1 million this year. The airline has reportedly in recent months also entertained talks over a possible co-management agreement with German airline Lufthansa, which Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said earlier this month had been “discussed” with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in a meeting between the two leaders.